Redemption
by Deiru Tamashi
Summary: Sequel to "Wielding the Key" 10 years have past; Ven still sleeps, Aqua is lost in the darkness, and Terra no longer has his heart. Dexal alone remains, burdened by his own guilt. Can helping young Sora master the Keyblade and defeat the Heartless be the way to cleanse his conscience? Or will what he has become spell the end of him?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Last Story:

Dexal, a wielder of the Keyblade, trained alongside his three friends Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. But when the worlds are threatened by the Unversed he departs, traveling apart from the other and trying to regain his memories from before he came to the Land of Departure, along with the answers to his own mysterious powers. After many worlds he found the truth: He had been an apprentice to Master Xehanort, and possessed the powers of twilight. The twilight allowed him to wield both darkness and light, for in his heart they existed as a single entity. Xehanort wanted this power because it would allow him to wield they X-Blade, and ordered Vanitas to kill him to gain them. Escaping in the form of a crystal, Dexal drifted through the Lanes Between until he landed on the Land of Departure.

After learning this Dexal succumbed a burning rage, awakening his powers and fighting Xehanort on Destiny Islands as revenge for harming both him and Ventus. Xehanort survived, and told Dexal to see what he had done to Eraqus, and then to come find him. Later Dexal learned from master Yen Sid that Xehanort had used Terra to strike the Master down, and he took Xehanort up on his offer. Traveling to the Keyblade Graveyard, he was reunited with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, and fought alongside each of them in three separate battles. Using his powers of twilight, Dexal destroyed the X-Blade in the final battle and freed Ventus, later finding helping Mickey find him and Aqua in the Lanes Between.

After they were healed Aqua and Dexal resolved to find Terra and give Ven a safe place, transforming the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion and placing him inside the Chamber of Waking. Leaving, Aqua and Dexal found Terra in Radiant Garden possessed by Xehanort, and fought him to free their friend. At the battle's end Dexal readied to levy the final blow against Xehanort, and they both stabbed each other with their Keyblades at the same time. Aqua saved them from the Realm of Darkness by sacrificing herself, the two of them ending up on the cobblestones of Radiant Garden. The story ended with Dexal and Xehanort taken in by Ansem the Wise, their memories wiped clean.

10 years pass...

**Redemption**

Ch.1 Building the Raft

I slept in the tree-house of Destiny Islands, my sleep as always plagued by memories of the past. "_He's not as weak as you think... You'll always find your way back to each other... Just... put an end to me... You are through!_" various voices said. My eyes snapped open, and I immediately sat up, wide-eyed and gasping. Eventually my breathing calmed, and I muttered to myself "Just a dream... Just a dream." Still, it helped little to erase the memories and guilt on my conscience. I held my hand in front of me, and slowly a Keyblade appeared in my hand. It was the Stormfall, the one given to me by Aqua and the last Keyblade I had power over left. Years had passed since that event occurred, but I still kept up my practice. I just hoped the day wouldn't come when I had to use it.

My name is Dexal, one of the last Keyblade Masters left in the worlds. I possessed the body of a nineteen-year old, though I should be much older. My hair is short and spiky, the color of silver. I wore black pants and a black belt with a gold buckle, a white T-shirt, black fingerless gloves and black leather dress shoes. My eyes were blue around the edge but reddened as they came closer, ending as the color of rubies around the pupil. I was tall, taller than the average person and almost as much as my lost friend, Terra. I had been staying here at Destiny Islands for eight years now, ever since I had left Radiant Garden in pursuit of my past. Too bad when I found my past it didn't make me happy.

A sliver of light fell upon Stormfall, and I looked a head to see that the island was beginning to lighten. Dismissing my Keyblade and stretching, I stood and walked out, climbing down the ladder and to the beach. The rising sun made the horizon glow golden, the waves sparkling and orange. I smiled; the sight of the morning waves was one of the few things that made me forget my guilt, and feel truly happy for once. But that was swiftly interrupted by a voice calling "Hey! Dexal!" I turned and saw Sora, who was rowing his way to the island. I raised an eyebrow. "Here so early?" I asked. He smiled. "Yeah, I can't wait to get the raft done!" he said excitedly.

I smiled and walked to the dock, waiting for him to get close. A while later Riku and Kairi's boats arrived as well, and we all began working on the raft. That was their plan- make a raft and use it to sail beyond the ocean to another world. I mentally knew that using just a raft would be impossible, but nonetheless the idea of reaching other worlds was one I embraced. It would feel good for a change of scenery. As the day passed we worked tirelessly to make the raft ready, and about some time near noon we all took a break. Sora went to the beach and lied down, instantly falling asleep.

He seemed to be having a rather strange dream, and stayed asleep even after the break ended. So, me and Kairi decided to give him his just deserts. Slowly we walked towards him, and I smiled at Kairi. "You sure you want to do this?" I asked, and she smiled. "Absolutely." I smiled and let her, and she stood behind Sora as he awoke. He sat up and looked at the sea, before yawning and leaning back down. When he did he saw her and jerked back up, saying "Whoa!" he turned and got to his knees, and Kairi giggled. "Gimme a break, Kairi," he said, and she stood.

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd fining you snoozing down here," she said, and I chuckled. He looked over and saw me, and said "You were in on this too, Dexal?" "Serves you right for sleeping on the job," I said. "No! This huge back _thing_ swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe! I couldn't-" he began. Before Kairi dropped a coconut on his head. "Ow!" he exclaimed, and she asked "Are you still dreaming?" "It wasn't a dream. Or... was it? I don't know," he said. He looked out at the sea. "What was that place? So bizarre..." "Not half as bizarre as you, Ven," I said, chuckling.

Sora looked at me confusedly, and I realized my mistake. "Who's Ven?" he asked. My eyes widened, and I said "Uh... forget about that! Just a slip of the tongue." He shrugged, before turning sitting and turning to Kairi. "Say Kairi, what was your hometown like?" You know, where you grew up?" he asked. "I told you before, I don't remember," she said. "Nothing at all?" he pressed, and she replied "Nothing." "What about you Dexal? You know where you were before you came to the island?" I gulped and looked away, saying "Sorry, nothing." "Either of you two want to go back?" he asked.

I chuckled and said "My home is gone. I tried to go back. But I couldn't." And it was true. I had tried to return to Castle Oblivion when I uncovered my past eight years ago, but the same thing that had caused me to remember kept me from getting there. So I was left with one world to go: Destiny Islands. Here I could hide away from the darkness and watch over Sora, Riku and Kairi. They had all, I found out, been touched some way by my three friends years ago. Sora held Ventus's heart, Kairi had been cast a spell upon by Aqua, and Riku was destined to inherit the Keyblade because of Terra. Their fates were altered by all of us; it was only right I look after them.

"Well, I'm happy here," Kairi told Sora, and I broke from my thoughts to look at them. "Really?" Sora remarked. "But you know... I wouldn't mind going to see it." "I'd like to see it too. Along with any other world out there. I want to see them all!" he said. "Be careful. Some worlds out there aren't very pleasant," I warned, remembering a world torn by war and filled with dead Keyblades. "Maybe, but I'm not scared!" he said defiantly, and I nodded. Kairi looked at him. "So what are we waiting for?" "Hey," we heard a voice say, and we turned to Riku stepped forward carrying a log. "Aren't you guys forgetting about me? So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft," he said.

"Not at all, we were just taking break," I said innocently, and he smirked in disbelief as I sat down on the sand. He walked forward and tossed the log to Sora, who shouted as he tried to catch it. Kairi giggled and he looked at her, saying "And you're just as lazy as he is." She placed her hand behind her head and said "So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together! I'll race you!" she said. At that moment Riku had sat down, and while Sora went "Huh?" he said "What? Are you kidding?" "Come, not a race!" I protested. She smiled and said "Ready... Go!"

The three of us looked at each other before sprinting forward, trying to be the first to make it to the raft. Behind Kairi laughed, following. I could have ran flat-out and left them all in the dust, but after my most recent nightmare my energy was drained enough that Riku beat Sora and me. Sora pouted at losing again, and I smiled; the kid had energy and emotion to spare. "Okay, we need supplies to finish the raft. Sora, can you get them for me?" Kairi nodded, and she said "Okay, here's what I need you two to get: Two logs, one piece of cloth, and a length of rope. Got it?" "Got it!" Sora said, running off to find the materials. "Hey, wait!" she called, before groaning.

"What?" I asked. "I was about to ask him if he wanted your help, but I guess he doesn't. Do you mind helping him though?" she asked. I shook my head and said "Not at all." I looked around for the two logs, but as I came around the other side of the island I passed Wakka, who said "Yo Dexal! Feeling like a match?" I smiled and decided that I could take a detour, pulling a wooden sword from my waist and saying "Bring it on!" He grunted threw his ball at me, and I dodged before running forward, hitting him on the arm with the fake blade. He grunted and jumped back, throwing his ball again. It hit me on the chest and bounced back, and he smiled before throwing it again.

This time though I struck, hitting the ball and sending it right back at him. He shouted in surprise and wandered around a daze, and I ran up and jumped, hitting him with a vicious overhead blow to the skull. Wakka fell the ground and clutched his head, saying "Oh man, that really hurt." I smiled and put my sword back at me waist, extending my hand and pulling him up. "Just remember, I'm the oldest person on this island. And I've spent my whole life learning to fight," I said. He grumbled and said "Next time, I win though!" and walked off to see if he could win against Tidus.

Smiling, I shook my head and looked around, finding a log by the papou fruit tree. Later, a I saw another one by the beach and gave them both to Kairi, while Sora gave her the cloth and length of rope. "Thanks, guys! I found some things today. Here, take them," she said, handing us a each a Hi-Potion. "Want to call it a day?" she asked, and we both nodded. "Okay, it's getting late. We'll finish up tomorrow," she agreed. With that we walked back around to the island, seeing Riku at the usual spot. The sun had begun to set, and while Sora and Kairi sat on the tree I leaned against it next to Riku. "So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here," Riku said. "But how far could a raft take us?" he pressed. Both Riku and I shrugged. "Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else," he said. "You've been to other worlds, Dexal. What's it like?" Sora asked me. "Depends on the world you arrive at. Each one is different from the other. There are jungles, deserts, castle ruins- the possibilities are endless," I told him. "So, suppose you got to another world. What would you there?" Kairi asked. I blinked in surprise, and said "Good question."

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Riku asked. Sora lied down on a branch, saying "I don't know." "Exactly. That's why we have to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go," Riku announced. I looked at him, amazed by the maturity I heard from him.

"I never expected you to think about something so deeply," I said. "Yeah. You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked. "Thanks to the two of you. If you hadn't come here I probably wouldn't have thought of any of this. Kairi, Dexal, thanks," he said seriously. Kairi said "You're welcome," and I nodded. After that we sat together in silence, watching the last rays of sun glisten on the waves. Eventually though we had to leave, and as Sora, Riku and Kairi rowed back to the mainland I went back to the tree-house where I slept, looking forward to finishing the raft.

Little did I know we never would.

xxx

And that ladies and gentleman, is the first chapter of Redemption. Why does Dexal only have power over Stormfall? What allowed him to again travel worlds eight years ago? Where we he go when the islands are destroyed? Keep reading to find out!

Please review! If you flame Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	2. The Actual Chapter 2

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.2

The next day I found myself in an argument with Sora and Riku as to what the raft should be called. Rikku wanted to call it Highwind, Sora wanted Excalibur, and I wanted to call it Wayward Wind. The argument began to heat up, and I yelled "That's it! Call it what you two want! I'm out!" and went to go lean against the wall. Sora frowned before turning back to Riku, and said "Guess there's only one way to solve this." At first Riku looked confused, until he smiled and nodded. "Yeah." "You two at it again?" Kairi asked. "All right; I'll be the judge. Usual rules apply…"

She pointed towards the other end of the island, where I knew the star-shaped tree was. "Take any route you want… First one to tag that tree and make it back wins," she instructed. "If I win, I'm captain. And you if win-" Sora began, before Riku said "I get to share the papou with Kairi." I looked up, and Sora said "What?!" "Deal? The winner gets to share a papou with Kairi," he suggested. Sora looked uncertain, but once he said "Wait a minute!" Kairi called "Okay you two!" He hastily shook his head and looked forward, and Kairi called "Go!" Both of them ran forward, and Sora made a beeline for the zip-wire while Riku ran down the steps to the beach.

Sora grabbed the zip-line and slid down, gaining a good lead over Riku from the speed. Then he jumped off and hopped from the top of tree to tree, trying to get to the star-shaped one first. But he slipped on the edge of one tree, and fell down to land face-first in the sand. I winced, and as Riku passed by him he laughed. At that Sora hurriedly stood up and chased after him, and they both touched the tree at the same time. They both began hopping back across the trees, and while Kairi called "Go Sora!" I yelled "Come on, Riku!" at the mention of his name Riku looked up, and in that lapse of concentration he did the same as Sora and slipped off the tree.

I sighed at the landing while Sora kept going, but Riku hurriedly stood and kept going. He jumped over the edge of the road while Sora began running back across the bridge, the two of them neck-and-neck. "Come on!" we both yelled, and Sora put on a last burst of speed, just passing Riku as they crossed the finish line. "Whoo-hoo! Sora!" Kairi cheered, and I smiled. While Kairi kept cheering he said "What were you so worried about? It's just a raft after all." Sora's eyes widened and he glared at him, while I said "Now Riku…" "Okay guys, fun's over. We need to finish getting things ready," Kairi said, interrupting me.

Riku nodded and turned away, walking off. I rolled my eyes, and asked "Okay, what is that Sora and I need to do?" "We need provisions so we can eat while we're on the raft. I want you two to grab the following: Three fish, three mushrooms, one seagull egg, and fill this bottle with water. But not from the ocean!" she added. I took the bottle and said "Okay Sora, I'll grab the three fish and the water. In the meantime, you grab the mushrooms and seagull egg." He nodded and bounded off, in search of mushrooms and a seagull's nest. I knew that no fish swam on this side of the island, so I walked to the other end and walked through the little side shack that led to the front.

Indeed a lone seagull was gliding through the air, and when I followed its trail I saw an egg sitting on top of a tree. I smiled and shook my head; there was no way Sora was going to find that. Wondering how long he would spend trying to find it, I passed by Tidus, who said "Hey Dexal! You know that Selphie and it tried to take on Sora at once time, and even with Wakka's help we didn't stand a chance! Think you can do the same thing?" he challenged. I smiled, drawing my wooden sword and saying "Bring it on." He smiled, running towards the beach and yelling "Hey Selphie! Wakka! Dexal wants to fight all three of us at the same time!"

The two of them ran forward, Selphie saying "Are you sure about that, Dexal? We won't go easy on you!" My smile grew, and I let them form a circle around me. "Let's go!" I called, and ran forward towards her. She spun her jump rope over her head, but I held my sword out it and wrapped around the blade. Rather than pull back I kept running, and jabbed her in the side before yanking my sword back, pulling her rope out of her hands. "Take this!" Wakka called, jumping up and throwing his ball at me with both hands. I rolled to the side to avoid it, and just as Selphie ran at me to get her rope back I swung and wrapped it around her. I pulled back and she spun like a top, knocking into Tidus and sending them both to the ground.

I smiled and threw Selphie her rope, before it turned to Wakka and ran forward. He threw his ball and I swung my sword like a baseball bat, hitting it and sending the ball flying across the island. Now that he didn't have a weapon Wakka was defenseless, and I slammed the flat of my blade against his chest. The blow knocked the wind out of him and he doubled over, giving me the perfect chance to hit him with a spinning kick to the head. Wakka fell to the ground just as Tidus stood, and he yelled before flipping over in the air and trying to deal an overhead blow. I blocked it, but he hit hard enough that my wooden sword snapped.

Tidus smiled and said "Gotcha now!" before running forward. I raised an eyebrow and said "Oh, no?" and catapulted myself towards him. Not expecting an attack, Tidus stopped and took a step back, just as I flipped the stump of my sword in my hand and attacked with the unbroken handle and cross guard. The sound of wood hitting wood ringed through the air, and I hit again and again. Tidus could only defend as I kept pushing him, until he reached the edge of the water a stomped down on his foot. His eyes bulged in pain and he faltered, and I took the chance to knock the sword out his hands and point the stump of mine at his throat. "Done," I said simply.

He frowned and nodded, walking over to his weapon and muttering, "Unreal…" I smiled and helped Wakka and Selphie up, thanking them for the fight before I began wading into the ocean. Several fish swam around in the shallow end, and I knew that the chances of grabbing one with my bare hands were near impossible. So I held my hand below the water, and concentrated. I seldom used magic now; to do so would mean possibly revealing my true identity as a Keyblade wielder to the others. And unless this world happened to be consumed by darkness, I had to keep that fact as secret.

I muttered "Slow," and felt the energy pulse through the waves, hitting a trio of nearby fish. Instantly their movements slowed, as if they were wading in syrup rather than water. I walked forward and plucked them from the ocean, the spell fading and letting them regain their former vigor. Now that I had my catch in hand, I walked back onto the beach and looked around for a place to put them. There was a large waterfall nearby, and I could both keep the fish in there and fill that bottle full of water while I was at it. Doing so, I placed the fish in the water and unscrewed the cap of the bottle… just as I felt an intruder emerge.

My senses went off like a series of alarms, and I bolted up before looking around. There was a presence of darkness here, one that no right to be in a place as full of light as this. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, breathing through my nostrils deeply. Every entity of darkness, every living thing, had a signature scent. By recognizing that scent I could tell who or what it was, and this scent belonged to- My eyes snapped open, old memories filling me with shock and horror. I looked at the small cave by the fall, feeling the scent coming from that area.

Hastily I cast the spell Vanish, turning myself invisible before I ran into the cave. No, this couldn't be his scent. Why would he be here, of all places? Worse still, I detected the scent of Sora coming from the cave as well. If Sora was in their alone with him, then the danger he was in was unimaginable. I ran inside, instantly seeing Sora and hiding behind a rock, despite the fact I was invisible. Sora was on his knees with a hand pressed against an old drawing on the wall, one that seemed to be of him handing a papou fruit to Kairi. He smiled at his handiwork, but then suddenly he looked around, saying "Wh- Who's there?"

I turned and saw a figure, their face concealed by a brown coat while their back hunched over. Then it spoke, in the voice that haunted my nightmares for almost a decade. "I've come to see the door to this world," the man said, and Sora replied "What?" "This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness… soon to be completely eclipsed," he announced, and I gasped. "Well whoever you are, stop freaking my out like this! Huh? Wh-Where did you come from?" Sora asked, finally seeing the stranger. "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door," he told him.

"So you're from another world!" Sora exclaimed. "There is so very much to learn. You understand so little," he told Sora. Sora frowned. "Oh yeah? Well you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" he said confidently. "A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," the stranger replied. There was a strange sound, and I turned to see a door at the back of the cave. I recoiled; that had never been here before! Hastily I looked back at the hooded figure, only to find him gone. Sora grabbed a mushroom from the ground and walked out, and I let the Vanish spell disappear.

I walked towards the door and placed my hand on it. This had to be the door the heart of Destiny Islands. But how had that man gotten here? The scent he had, the darkness around him, and that voice, I had been right. Xehanort. But if that was him, why would he have darkness around him. Xehanort had removed his own heart, making himself a Nobody; he shouldn't have a detectable presence at all. So how could he unless- I gasped. Unless he became a Heartless. The possibilities were dire. If Xehanort had become a Heartless and had opened a dark corridor to Destiny Islands, then it stood to reason that other Heartless would as well. Without even meaning to I summoned Stormfall, and hastily I dismissed it.

No, even if Heartless arrived in this world, I would still protect Sora, Riku, and Kairi. It would mean revealing my true identity and possibly even the existence of other worlds, but that was a small price to pay for saving the hearts of three youths, three of my friends. My hand tightened into a fist. Protecting my friends- I would not fail to do so again. I walked out the cave and picked up the bottle from the falls, filling it up before grabbing the fish and going around the island, seeing Sora trying to climb a tree and get the seagull egg. If I hadn't been in such damp spirits I would have laughed; every time he tried to get the egg the seagull would come down and peck at his hand.

"Need some help, Sora?" I asked. He nodded and I told him to jump down. Once he did I laid down the bottle and fish, before taking a few steps back and charging at the tree. My shoulder connected in a collision that would have broken the shoulder of a normal person, and the egg fell down from the tree. Sora shouted and caught it, and without a word I grabbed the water and fish before walking to the cove. As we both walked towards Kairi, who was leaning against the raft's mast. Curiously I saw she was making a necklace, and I asked "What are you making Kairi?"

"This? I'm making a necklace of thalassa shells. In old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage," she explained. I smiled; knowing that my Wayfinder was in the same shape as her necklace. I still had it, but merely kept it in my pocket where no one could see it. "Well, we get all the food," Sora said, holding up the egg. She broke into a smile, and said "Thanks guys! Here, I found something today. Take them, they're yours." She handed us each a Hi-Potion. After that we called it a day, and while Riku automatically left Sora and Kairi sat at the edge of the dock together. I smiled; the two of them had no clue how much they like each other. Soon enough though they left as well, and I settled down in the tree house, intent on getting a good night's sleep.

But then everything went hell.

xxx

And next chapter, the adventure begins! Where will Dexal go when the islands are destroyed? How will he be able to withstand the flood of Heartless that comes with it? And can he find Sora once they're separated? Find out next chapter!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will Look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.3 End of the Islands

Soon after Sora, Kairi and the others left I laid down in the tree-house to sleep, worried about Xehanort's appearance and what it might mean. As usual I had a nightmare, only this time it was much worse.

_I sat on the rocky ledge that Terra, Aqua, Ventus and I would be on after a long day of training. Those three people, my best friends, sat beside me. This had to be before we left on our journey, an act which ultimately ended in their respective demises. "The stars sure are bright tonight," Ven said, and I nodded. "You know, they say that every star is another world. And if that's true, then there are more worlds out there than we can count," Aqua said. "Yep," Terra said, and I nodded. Something about the setting wasn't right, as if I was waiting for something to happen._

_ Terra, Aqua, and Ven didn't seem to feel that way though, so I tried to relax. We spent a long time there, merely staring at the stars and enjoying each others companies. After a few hours- had it been hours?- Terra said "Hey, I think we need to head back." We all agreed and stood, beginning to walk back to the castle. That was when everything went wrong. All of a sudden the sky darkened, and I looked up. "What's happening?" I called, when we heard Ven cry out in pain. We all turned to see his Keyblade shatter, and his body dissolved into particles of light. "Ven!" we called, when a dark hole appeared beneath Aqua's feet. _

_ The Guardian that had fought alongside Xehanort so many years ago rose out of the hole, grabbing Aqua and pulling her in. "Aqua!" Terra and I called, running forward. But she was pulled in too quickly, and disappeared into the darkness. Terra suddenly shouted, and I turned to see his Keyblade fall to the ground, replaced by Xehanort's. I looked around; the Land of Departure was being destroyed. My friends, my home, all of the worst things that had happened to me. They were happening again before my eyes. Then, suddenly, Xehanort changed to be the figure in the brown cloak that I had seen earlier in the day. _

_ He laughed, and said "You tried so hard to save your friends, but in the end you failed. And you will do so again, when I return the worlds to darkness." "Never!" I called angrily, but that only seemed to amuse him further. "Is that what you think? Then awaken from your sleep, and see the world you live in be once again consumed," he said, and flung his hand out at me. A blast of wind hit me, and although I tried to resist I was sent back, through the air and into the darkness._

I gasped, waking up and sitting bolt awake. I could feel my blood pumping, and I looked around to see of anyone else was there. There wasn't and I sighed in relief. Maybe it had been just a dream, maybe that's all it- Then suddenly I heard thunder rumble, and I looked out the doorway to see the entire island had darkened. Palm trees were swaying the breeze, and clouds churned overhead. Then it hit me. The raft! I stood and ran out, climbing down the ladder and running to the beach. By the dock I could see Sora get out of his boat, and Riku's and Kairi's were docked next to it.

"Sora! We got a huge storm coming!" I called, and he nodded. He tried to call something, but it was drowned out by the blaring of my senses. A trio of Shadows appeared in front of him, and I called "Heartless!" I ran forward and summoned Stormfall, cutting through them and grabbing Sora. "Dexal? What were those thing?" he asked. "There's no time to explain. We need to find Riku and Kairi!" I said, and he nodded. More Heartless appeared, and I cut through them as well before running forward, Sora right behind me.

As we ran more and more Heartless kept appearing, no matter how many I destroyed. Sora picked up a weapon and tried to knock one away, but the wooden sword passed right through it without doing anything. "What the-?" he said, as a lone Shadow jumped forward and scratched his arm. "Sora!" I called, casting Firaga and destroying it. "You alright?" I asked, and he nodded. Still, I gave him a Potion and he drank it, the claw marks on his arm disappearing. "What is that?" he asked, pointing up at the sky. I turned and saw a huge sphere of darkness in the air, crackling with energy.

My eyes widened; that was the same time of dark sphere that had destroyed the Land of Departure. "Let's go!" I called, and Sora nodded. We kept going on until I saw Riku standing in the area with the papou fruit tree, and we ran there. Once we got there I called "Riku!" and Sora asked "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Without looking at us, Riku said "The door... has opened." "What?" Sora asked, and he replied "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" "What are you talking about? We have to find Kairi!" Sora called.

"Kairi's coming with us!" he replied, and Sora looked at him surprise. I didn't like this, something about Riku had changed. He looked up t the dark sphere. "Once we step though, there might be no turning back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can;t let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!" he called. My eyes widened.; was the darkness affecting him. He looked down and held out his hand, and Sora said "Riku..." Suddenly a dark hole appeared beneath Riku, rising to wrap around his body.

Sora ran forward but was also ensnared, and when I called "Sora!and ran forward I was stopped by Heartless. A Shadow jumped at me and I dodged, spinning in circle and cutting it half across the stomach. Another laid down on the ground and moved across it, trying to rise behind me. But when it did I teleported, and called "Thunder!" That very spell hit down and destroyed all the Heartless around me, just as Sora and Riku were enveloped in darkness. "Sora! Riku!" I called, and ran forward. But when I reached them there was a flash of light, and the darkness vanished to reveal that Sora was there while Riku had vanished.

More surprising though, was that Sora was holding a Keyblade, a Kingdom Key to be precise. I didn't understand; the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony had been performed on Riku, not Sora. Then I heard a voice whisper "Keyblade... Keyblade..." and I knew it was Ven's. That explained- the presence of Ven's heart inside Sora's had given him the power. "What is this?" Sora asked, and I replied "Just as the voice said: It's called a Keyblade." More Heartless rose out of the ground, and I said "And it might be a good idea for you to use it." They moved forward and Sora nodded, running at the Shadows and swinging.

The move had enough power in it to send them back, but unlike me Sora could defeat them in one blow yet. Still I stayed behind him and destroyed any Heartless that got around, trying to attack him from behind. We fought or way towards the door that lead to the cove where the raft was, but when I tried to turn the knob it wouldn't budge. I pushed against the door and attacked it with Stormfall, but it wouldn't budge. "Forget it, if this door won't even open to my strength Kairi couldn't have gotten through," I said, stabbing a Shadow that ran towards me.

"Then where else could she be?" Sora asked, sweat starting to form on his brow. I knew he wouldn't last much longer against this many Heartless, so I said "I don't know. Think, are there any places she might go to hide?" He was silent for a moment, until he gasped and said "Our cave!" I nodded, it made sense, and said "Then we had better got there quick! Stand back!" he did as I said and moved aside, and I pointed Stormfall at the sky. "Meteor!" I called.

A huge flaming rock dropped out of the clouds, and I said "Now run!" We did, and as the heartless gave chase the Meteor hit the ground. The impact and resulting explosion shook the ground, also wiping out every Heartless that stood in the way. I knew I wouldn't be able to cast that again for a good moment, so we kept running and made it to the cave. The entrance was replaced with a huge door, which opened when we got near. Crawling through, we stood once inside and ran towards the interior. We indeed saw her, and Sora called "Kairi!"

She turned to us, looking like she was ill, and slowly said "Dexal... Sora..." I was about to ask what was wrong when the door behind her burst open, darkness billowing outwards. Kairi flew towards Sora, and just as he caught her she disappeared. Before we had time to wonder where she went though, the darkness sent us back through the cave and into the island, landing on our stomachs. I hurriedly stood, trying to see of either Riku or Kairi were still anywhere on the islands. Then I realized that I was wrong. I should have said "what was left of the islands."

A single small patch of rock floated around in the air, while around us pieces of debris swirled like a maelstrom. Below was nothing but an empty black abyss, while above the dark sphere had more than doubled in size. Sora and I looked around, when a dark shape rose out the ground to stand before us. It was thirty-feet tall and similar to the Shadows, in that it also had jet black skin and glowing yellow eyes. But the resemblance end there, as its fang was covered by dark ropes of stuff like hair, two small wings grew out of its back, and an entire heart-shaped part of its stomach was missing. A Darkside.

I groaned and tightened my grip on my Stormfall; they had to bring out the big guns. Still, I ran forward and began attacking his left hand, while Sora did the same to its right. I was surprised that Sora knew to attack the monster's hands, but I didn't give it much thought before attacking. The Darkside pulled back its right arm and its hand began glowing, before she punched the ground and it went through, creating a dark vortex that a quartet of shadows rose from. I jumped onto its arm and tried to run up to attack its head, but It pulled back before I could I landed on the ground.

"Dexal!"Sora called, but I waved him off. "Don't worry about me! Just keep attacking that thing while I deal with the small fry!" I called, and he nodded. Jumping back to my feet, I blocked one Shadow from attacking just in time and cast Fire, watching it burn as it was enveloped in flames. The other three laid against the ground and moved forward, but I smiled and called "Earth!" casting Quake. Pillars of earth shout out of the soil and sent the Heartless flying. The move dealt extra damage because they were against the ground when I cast it, so with one good swipe I cut all three of them down.

The Darkside got down on its knees and its chest cavity glowed, before it spread its arm and fired a pair of energy shots at us. I blocked it but Sora couldn't, shouting as the shot hit him in the stomach. It kept firing and firing, leaving no room to attack unless we wanted to be hurt in exchange. "there's no end to this!" Sora called, and I nodded. I tried to think of a way to beat this thing when it hit me. "Sora! Get over here!" I called. Slowly, he did as I asked while hitting away any blasts from the Darkside. When he got close I stabbed my Keyblade into the ground and grabbed his hand, jumping onto the Stormfall and throwing him into the air.

"Now! Attack its face!" I called, while also casting Blizzaga. Sora nodded and flew down, hitting the Heartless in the face with an overhead blow at the same moment the spell hit. The Darkside buckled from the assault and stood, covering its face with its hands. I smiled in victory, but it was short-lived. The wind from the dark sphere picked up, and the Darkside actually rose into the air as it was sucked in. Sora held onto the last remains of a bridge while I grabbed a palm tree, but neither of us held on for long. We were both pulled in, the darkness consuming us and everything else.

xxx

Aww, the Destiny Islands have been destroyed! But now that they are gone, where will Dexal go? Will he meet up with Sora again? What will happen next? Find out next chapter!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.4

I feel through the darkness, unsure of where I was, where I was going, or even which way was up. Eventually a light appeared below me, and I passed through it and into a new world. I shouted, suddenly seeing a cobbled square with streetlights below me. I shouted in surprise as I landed, receiving a face full of stone and almost breaking my nose. "Hey! Are you alright?!" I heard a young, female voice say. I groaned, slowly pushing myself up and into sitting position. "Yeah, I think so," I said, casting a quick Cure spell to held any bruises or scrapes I may have gotten.

The young stranger sighed in relief, and I looked up at her. She had to be sixteen, maybe even fifteen years old. Short black hair framed a face with chocolate brown eyes, and she had a bandana wrapped around her forehead. A short green tube top held up by suspender covered her top half, while the lower was covered by a pair of beige short-shorts and a blue belt, along with orange boots and thigh-high socks. On her arms were a pair of black sleeves that reached from her elbow to her wrist, and she wore a pair of brown-orange gloves. "Who are you?" I asked, and she smiled. She pulled a shuriken from her pocket and struck a pose, saying "I am the most fearsome warrior in all of history. Kneel before me, the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

I smirked, saying "Dexal, nice to meet you. Can you do me the favor of telling me what world I'm in?" She looked back at me from her pose and put the shuriken away, helping me up. I took a look around; the same cobbled stones that I had fallen on covered the whole area. Street lamps stood in regular intervals, and a small coffee shop was to my left. A large door both behind me and to my right, while ahead was set up step, up which stood a store that said "Accessory Shop." "This world is called Traverse Town. Based on that question and including the fact you just feel from the sky, I'm guessing you're from another world?" Yuffie asked. I nodded. "Yeah, the Heartless showed up and destroyed it, and scattered my friends and I."

She frowned, her cheerful expression fading. "You too, huh? I'm in the same boat, along with my friends," she said. I nodded. "Looks like we've all lost worlds to the Heartless," I said. Yuffie nodded sadly, saying "Me and the others, we've been looking for a weapon called a Keyblade. If we found it and its wielder, then we would have a chance of getting rid of the Heartless once and for all. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?" I smiled. "I think I can do better than know," I said. She looked at me, and I raised my hand before summoning Stormfall. Yuffie gasped, looking at me with her eyes wide. "Wha- Bu- You- You're the chosen one?!" she nearly yelled.

"Not the one you need, but I'm good friends with the Keyblade Wielder who you need to find. I can help you do it," I said. She beamed at me, grabbing my hand and saying "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! Come on, we have to meet up with Leon!" she said. I looked at her in confusion. "Wait a minute! Who's Leon?" I asked. She looked back. "One of my friends who's been looking for the Keyblade, who else?" she said, and I nodded. We left the front of the First District, and had almost made it to the Second when a pack of Shadows suddenly rose out of the ground.

"Heartless!" Yuffie called, pulling her shuriken back out her pocket. I tightened my grip on Stormfall, moving into a battle pose next to her. "Stay on guard!" I said, and she nodded. Running forward, I called "Take this!" and slashed horizontally across the chest of one Shadow, killing it instantly before blasting another with Fire. Yuffie threw a trio of shuriken at one Shadow and watched as they cut it to shreds, before she caught them and kicked the fourth Shadow in the stomach.

I grinned; Yuffie was a good fighter, but at that moment a Large Body and trio of Soldiers appeared. "More of them? Come on!" Yuffie groaned, jumping back. Two of the soldiers ran towards her, and I could visibly see one of her shuriken grow in size and glow with magic. She threw the enchanted weapon at the soldiers, instantly cutting them down like clear-cutting trees. I looked at the last Soldier and the Large Body and smiled, concentrating my power until a ball of black flame appeared in my hand. I called "Dark Firaga!" and threw it at the pair of Heartless. The spell exploded in blast that incinerated the Soldier and sent the Body flying until it crashed it a wall, where it slumped down to the ground.

"Not bad. Now let me finish this!" Yuffie called, running forward throwing her enchanted shuriken. But before I had a chance to warn her it bounced right of the Body's huge stomach, slamming into hers. She doubled over and fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her while her weapon clattered against the ground. The Body stood and scratched its head, looking from me to Yuffie. Then it seemed to make a decision, and pump a fist against it stomach before charging at her. My eyes widened and I ran forward, calling "Yuffie!" She tried to stand up and get away but the Body slammed its stomach into her, sending her back until she landed against a door and fell down.

My eyes blazed with anger, and I pointed Stormfall at the Heartless. "Hey!" I called, and it turned to look at me. I smiled maliciously. "You like hitting hard? Then have a taste of my Zantetsuken!" Instantly I drew my Keyblade back and crouched, and before it could move shot forward in a single blindingly fast blow. The Body burst into shadows and faded, felled instantly by the move. I looked at where it had stood for a second before dismissing my Keyblade at kneeling next to Yuffie. "Yuffie? You alright?" I asked, shaking her shoulder gently. She groaned lightly but didn't move, and I sighed again before picking her up, hefting her over my shoulder.

"Since I'm going to be carrying you to him, mind telling me where Leon is?" I asked. "Hotel… Second District…" she managed to say, before going limp. I nodded and began moving, picking up her shuriken and carrying it with me. As we walked I stopped, suddenly feeling a presence emerge from the shadows a little ways off in town. I was tempted to stop, but I knew that I would see him soon enough. So I kept going, but I muttered "See you in a little while, Sora."

xxx

I walked through the Second District until I made it to the Hotel, luckily encountering no Heartless all the while. As I pushed the door opened and was greeted by a long hallway, with four doors on the left side and none on the right. "Hey, Leon! Are you in here?" I called, and I door by the end opened. I expected to see Leon, but instead it was another girl, one with braided brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a pink dress with a blue belt around the waist, and a pair of brown boots. 'Who are you?" she asked, unconcerned by the appearance of a stranger. "Name is Dexal, nice to meet you. I'm here because of… well…" I said, trailing off and gesturing to the girl over my shoulders.

She gasped. "Yuffie!" she called, running forward. "What happened?" "We were attacked by some Heartless in the First District. She threw her huge shuriken, and it bounced off one's stomach and into hers, and then it smashed her into a door," I explained. I transferred Yuffie into the girl's arms, and I asked "So what's your name? are you a friend of Yuffie's?" She nodded. "Aerith Gainsborough. It's nice to meet you Dexal," she said, while walking into one of the hotel rooms. The room had a distinctly Chinese theme, and she set Yuffie down on the bed.

"Heal," Aerith whispered, and her hands glowed green. The light shined and wrapped around Yuffie, repairing any injuries and restoring energy. "There," she said, standing up and smiling at me. "Thank you for brining her here. Are you new to this world?" I nodded. "Yeah, mine was destroyed by the Heartless. Speaking of the Heartless, aren't you guys looking for the wilder of the Keyblade?" I asked. She nodded, and I held up my hand. Stormfall appeared in my hand, and she blinked in surprise. I smirked. "Isn't this the part where you grab my hand, jumping for joy, and pull me to go meet this Leon?" I asked. Aerith chuckled. "No, only Yuffie has that much boundless energy. But I can take you to him," she said, and I nodded.

She led me through the side door and into another room, this one green, but to my surprise it was empty. "That's weird. Where could he have gone?" she wondered. I didn't know the answer, until my senses went off and I looked out the door. "Sora!" I called, and ran through. "Dexal, wait! Where are you going?" Aerith said, but by then I was already out the door. I had just enough time to see Sora run through the doors back to the First District. I tried to run after him, but immediately a trio of Shadows rose out of the ground. I grunted angrily and slashed Stormfall, destroying them instantly before running forward. More appeared, five Shadows and two Large Bodies, and I jumped over them.

"You're in my way!" I called, slamming my Keyblade down and bringing with it a slew of meteors. They destroyed all the Shadows and sent the Body flying, immediately guarded by a trio of Soldiers. One swung its foot and jumped at me, and I blocked the blow with Barrier before using Counter Blast. My barrier shattered and the crystalline shards were sent flying, knocking the soldier back with a few shards digging into its chest. The Large Body stood and thrashed around, the outline of its body glowing purple. It charged forwar teleported behind it, calling "Fire!" and unleashing Triple Firaga.

Three balls of burning flame shot from Stormfall and blasting in to the Body's back, incinerating it before it turned to the Soldiers. One ran forward and slashed at me with its claws and I wasn't quick enough to turn around and block, resulting with a large set of scratches across my back. I growled and my eyes turned briefly black. I spun around faster than was normally possible, and shot forward using Dark Haze. My body was briefly enveloped in shadows, and when I smashed my way through the Soldiers they were inflicted with Doom. Exactly five seconds later they exploded, bursting into shadows and fading away.

I ran through the doors to the First District and could hear it; the sounds of Sora fighting with someone else. I was just about to help when I heard someone behind me say "Don't." I turned, seeing that it was Aerith, who was holding up Yuffie. "I recognize the voice of the person fighting your friend. It's Leon," she said. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I asked "Then why is he fighting him?" "Leon wants to test your friend. To see if he had what it takes to be a Keyblade wielder," she explained, before adding "So please don't interfere." I didn't like it, but nodded. Still, I would watch the match, so I cast Vanish before running around the corner.

Sora looked the same as ever, only this time with the Kingdom Key in hand. The other man, Leon, had long brown hair and blue eyes with a scar diagonal across the bridge of his nose. He wore black pants and a white shirt with a short black jacket, two brown and one black belt, black zipper shoes and black gloves. In his hands was gunblade, which he swung with surprising strength at Sora. Sora shouted in surprising and barely dodged it, jumping back before running forward and attacking with the Kingdom Key.

I sighed; Sora was swinging the Keyblade like a huge club, no wonder Leon had not trouble avoiding him. Said person leaped back through the air and landed on the far side of the square, where his hands started glowing red. Sora ran forward just as he cast Fire, and was sent the way he came with his shirt on fire. Sora hurriedly tried to bat it out, and succeeded although his jacket was singed. Despite that he didn't give up, and kept charging. Once he was close enough he swung heavily, and managed to hit Leon in the side hard enough to knock him off-balance.

Now that Leon had faltered Sora kept it up, and I smiled. That was one good lesson; once your enemy had lost their balance, don't let them get it back. Still, from what I had seen of Leon I already knew he was a seasoned fighter. A fact I was proven right about when Leon rolled out of the way of Sora's assault and cast Fire. Sora fell back and Leon ran at him, instantly turning the tables and placing Sora on the defensive. My natural instant to help kicked in, but I managed to force it down just enough to stay unmoving and invisible. Still, Stormfall appeared in my hands, and the sound of it being summoned drew Leon's attention. He looked over in my general direction, and Sora took the opportunity to deliver a vicious blow to the side of the ribs.

Leon shouted in pain and Sora readied to deal the final blow, when he lunged forward and slammed the flat of his blade against Sora's head. I winced from the force of the blow, and the two of them fell back from each other. "You're… You're gonna…" Sora managed to say, before falling over and fainting. Leon drew a deep breath and stood, and Aerith said "You know Leon, I think you're slipping." We both turned to see her standing there, still supporting Yuffie. "I went easy on him," he said, and I snorted. He looked at where I stood, but I was still invisible, so he shrugged and said "Still, looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

"Well, things may not be as bad as they seem. Sora's not the only person we know who can use the Keyblade," Aerith commented, and he raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who?" he asked. She smiled and nodded at me. "Dexal." I dropped the Vanish spell and reappeared, grinning at the dumbstruck expression on Leon's face. "What the-? _Another_ Keyblade wielder?" he asked, looking from me to Stormfall. "Nice to meet you Leon, my name is Dexal. And as for my Keyblade, it's a long story," I said, walking over and picking up Sora. "But first, let's get my friend here some treatment for that blow to the head, no?" He still looked thunderstruck, but nodded and followed me and Aerith back to the Second District.

xxx

Well, there goes the fourth chapter, and soon to come it the battle against the Guard Armor!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.5 Explanations

After we laid Sora on the bed in the green room, Leon looked over at me. "Alright Dexal, perhaps you can answer a few of our questions," he said. I sighed, but nodded and said "Fire away?" "First question: How can there be two wielders of the Keyblade at one time?" he asked. I blinked in surprise. "You mean you thought there could only be one?" I asked. Yuffie looked at me. "Well, yeah. I mean after all, besides the two of you we have yet to see another person wield the Keyblade," she said. As sad as that fact was, I nodded and leaned against the wall, looking away from them as old memories began to emerge.

"A long, long time ago, there used to be more than just two Keyblade wielders. There used to be hundreds, but they all lost their lives in an event called the Keyblade War," I said. They both looked like they wanted to say something, but I held up my hand to let them continue. "After the Keyblade War the numbers of Keyblade wielders went from hundreds to merely dozens, and as time passed even they began to die out, especially with the emergence of the Heartless. More and more darkness exist in peoples hearts, and only hearts with strong lights can even hope for the Keyblade to choose them. With the number of Heartless about in the worlds, you can see why those kinds of hearts are in short supply," I said.

"So wait, you're saying there used to be Keyblade wielders by the boatloads?!" Yuffie asked, incredulous. I nodded. "But like I surmised, wielders of the Keyblade are a slowly dying breed. Save for Sora, King Mickey and I, I have yet to see another Keyblade wielder in the past eight years," I said. "Then I have another question: How is it that you know Sora so well?" Leon asked. "Long ago I used to live in a world known as Radiant Garden, but eight years ago... some things happened... and I left the world to try and clear my guilty conscience. But when I ended up on the islands and saw Sora and his friends, I knew they would one day need my protection," I looked up. "And I've been there ever since."

"Last question then: You have the Keyblade in your possession. What do you plan to do about the Heartless?" Leon pressed. I sighed. "I plan to travel alongside Sora while he looks for his friends, and train him to properly use the Keyblade. There are powers he possesses that I no longer do," I said. Yuffie looked like she was about to ask what kind of powers, but then Sora stirred. Yuffie stood next to him and said "Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." slowly his eyes opened, and I noticed that they had a rather dazed look to them. "You okay?" Yuffie asked. He groaned. "I think so."

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade," she explained. Sora smiled at her. "I'm so glad you're okay, Kairi," he said. Yuffie bent down and looked at him. "Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie," she announced. He looked at her and rubs his eyes, blinking until the hallucination vanished. "I think you might have overdone it, Squall," she said, looking back. I frowned in confusion, and asked "Who?" "That's Leon," Leon said firmly. I was confused, but shrugged it off and looked at Sora. "Dexal? You're here too?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Glad to see you're awake," I said. He nodded and smiled, but it faded when he looked at the Kingdom Key, which was lying against the wall. "The Keyblade..." he said. Yuffie stood. "Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. Turns out, that's how they were tracking you," she said. "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long," Leon said. He picked up the Kingdom Key. "Still, hard to believe that you, of all people, are the chosen one," he commented. The Keyblade vanished from his hand, reappearing in Sora's. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers," he admitted.

Sora looked at him, annoyed. "Why don't you start making some sense! What's going on here?" he asked. I smiled, looks like he till had some of that endless energy, and pulled up a chair. "Alright, I'll explain," I said. Sora looked at me, and I started "You know how there are others worlds out there besides the islands and this town, right?" He nodded. "Well for a long while, the existence of other worlds was a complete secret. And it was meant to stay that way, because the worlds were never connected," I explained. "Until now," Leon added, and I nodded. "But that changed when the Heartless appeared."

"Heartless?" he asked. "The ones that attacked you. You remember?" Yuffie asked, and he nodded. "Those without hearts," Leon explained. "Yeah. They're attracted to the Keyblade, along with the darkness in people's hearts. And every heart has at least a sliver of darkness in it," I said. "Hey, have you ever heard of a guy named Ansem?" Yuffie asked. While Sora shook his head I nodded. "I was once his student. A very calculating man, yet surprisingly emotional man," I noted, remembering. "If you were his student, then you know about his report then, don't you?" Leon asked.

"Wait, what report?" Sora asked. "Ansem, their ruler and my teacher, was studying the Heartless. He wrote down the notes of all his research in a very extensive report," I explained. "Really? Can I see it?" he asked, but Leon and Yuffie shook their heads. "The pages to it are scattered," Yuffie said sadly. "Scattered?" he repeated. "Amongst many worlds," Leon finished. I looked at them, aghast. "What?! That report was the crown jewel of Ansem's research! How did it get lost?!" "It was scattered when out world was taken over," Yuffie told me. I looked at her, my shock fading to grief. Radiant Garden, taken over? I looked down. Was there a world I went to that _wasn't_ destroyed?

"So... this is the key?" Sora asked, holding up his Keyblade. "Exactly," Yuffie said. "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That';s why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what," Leon said. "Well, I didn't ask for this," he protested. I chuckled, saying "Few ever do." "The Keyblade chooses its master, and it chose you," Yuffie added. "So, tough luck," Leon said, waving his hand and leaning against the door. "How did this happen? I remember being in my room-" he began before gasping and standing. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!" he said, trailing off at the end.

I looked at him sadly, and Leon said "You know what? I really don't know." Sora looked down, and I leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we'll find them," I said. He looked and smiled, silently thanking me. "You know, I have a Keyblade too," I said. He looked at me confusedly, until realization dawned on him. "Was that the weapon you were using when the islands?" he asked, and I nodded. I summoned Stormfall, and he frowned. "How our Keyblades look different?" I chuckled. "That has to do with the chain of the Keyblade, which alters its properties and appearance," I explained.

I leaned over and grasped the chain of the Kingdom Key. "Stormfall is the only form of the Keyblade I have access to, but you on the other hand..." I said, channeling my power into the chain. Instantly Sora's Keyblade transformed, changing to the Three Wishes, the Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and even Ultima Weapon, before settling back as Kingdom Key. "Whoa!" he said, and I chuckled as I drew back. Then suddenly the Keyblade flashed, turning into the Wayward Wind. I gasped, and it changed back less than a second later. "What the-? Which one was that?" Sora asked.

Making sure my voice didn't tremble, I said "Not one that's important, just forget it." he looked at me, but shrugged and let it go. I was chocked; why had Sora's Keyblade changed to match Ven's? I knew Ventus's heart was inside Sora's but from what I knew it was completely dormant, trapped in a never-ending sleep. The only reason something like that would happen was if it was reacting to something. Could it have been me? And if so, would anything else like it happen whenever Sora and I now came in contact? Shaking my head and concluding that if it would I would be there to see it, I watched as Sora talked to Yuffie.

"You know, the Keyblade is supposed to be able to open all kinds of locks. Why don't you try it with that chest just right there?" she suggested, pointing at the one on the table. Sora walked to it and tapped his Keyblade against the top. Instantly it opened, rewarding Sora with an Elixir. He smiled and put it in his pocket, and Leon said "Sooner or later, the heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself." "Prepare myself?" he repeated. "To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked. I looked at Sora, and silently waited for his answer. If he did, then that was tantamount to accepting his role as a Keyblade wielder. And that would change his life forever.

Sora looked at Leon and nodded, saying "I'm ready." I smiled, and Leon slightly did as well before he stood straight. "Yuffie, let's go. Aerith should be done talking to our others guests." "Leon! Look!" she called, pointing at the other side of the room. Just as she did a Soldier Heartless appeared, and I summoned Stormfall. "Yuffie, go!" Leon called, and she ran through the door to the other room. "Yuffie?" Aerith called, and ran after her. Leon drew his gunblade and said "Sora, Dexal, let's go!" The Soldier crashed through the window and jumped into the alley, and Sora and I followed.

The alley was crawling with Soldiers, and Leon said "Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader! Let's go!" He ran off, slashing at Heartless all the while, and Sora asked "What do you think Dexal? Should we ignore the other ones?" I opened my mouth, but one Soldier answered for me when it ran forward and slashed its claws. I blocked it and cast Fira, blasting it to ashes. "To answer your question, no. In my experience, a lot of small enemies can be a big problem. Take 'em all down!" I called, casting Thundaga and doing just that. Sora nodded and slashed at a Soldier, who fell back and tripped over the edge into the stream of water leading to the sewers.

I smiled and slammed Stormfall into the chest of another heartless, making it buckle before I slammed my fist down on its head, knocking it unconscious. We kept going through the alley, taking down Heartless left and right until we reached the Second District. There we were greeted by A large Body and four soldiers, all of whom tired to use a spinning kick on us. I rolled to the side and dodged two, and while Sora blocked a third the fourth managed to land a hit. He grunted and fell back, and the Body took that chance to give him a vicious uppercut. The move slammed Sora's mouth shut and sent him through the air, crashing into and shattering a wood and metal bench.

I glared at the Body and yelled "Hey!" It turned to looks at me, and I said "You want to play rough? Then I can too! Magnega!" I called, pointing my Keyblade upwards and created a vortex of magnetic energy. The spell drew all the Soldiers towards me, and just before they reached me I dismissed the spell and cast Glacier. All of the Soldiers were instantly frozen in blocks of ice, which I sent flying at the Body. The first one crashed into and made it fall against a wall, where the other three slammed into it.

Upon impact the ice blocks shattered, slashing all four of the Heartless with countless shards of razor-sharp ice. Four hearts rose into the air as they died, and I picked Sora up from the remains of the ruined bench. "Hold still. Cure," I said, pointing Stormfall at him and firing an orb of green light. Instantly all the cuts he had vanished, and any splinters from the wood of the bench were removed, which were quite a few. "Come on, let's go," I said, and he nodded.

We made it to the center of the the Third District after fighting through waves of Heartless, but once there I looked around in confusion as no more appeared. "Where are they?" I asked, walking forward. Sora shrugged and looked around when suddenly I heard an explosion and two voices yelling. I turned to see Sora fall to the ground, flattened by two individuals that I recognize from years past as Donald and Goofy, Mickey's servants and friends. Stars flew around their heads, until they looked at Sora's Keyblade and called "The key!" The three of them stood, and then they saw me and Donald jumped back. "Dexal? Is that you?!" he asked. "Gawrsh, sure has been a while," Goofy said.

I smiled and nodded, but before any of us could say anything further the ground rumbled, and around the edges of the Distract pillars of stone shot up, blocking the exits. Heartless appeared and jumped down, and Sora, Donald, Goofy and I readied our weapons before charging forward.

xxx

Looks the group has come together at last, and next chapter the journey begins!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.6 Guard Armor

I shouted "Transcendence!" and cast that spell, lifting all the Heartless around us into the air before sending them flying. Donald cast Fire and one Soldier burst into flames, while Goofy threw his shield at another. Sora destroyed the third and I sent the fourth into the wall so hard it disintegrated on impact, the heart that it contained rising into the air. I smiled and spun Stormfall in my hands, saying "And that's all she wrote." "Yeah!" Donald cheered, and Sora and Goofy laughed. However, just as we started celebrated an alarm went off in my head, the same one that always warned me when a large dark entity was nearby.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy! Be on your guard!" I said loudly. They looked at me in confusion, but then a collection of purple armor parts fell to the ground from above. The parts rose back into the air, a pair of hands connecting to the sides while two feet attached to the bottom. It slammed back down, standing while a helmet fell onto the top. The pieces flipped over and about, and my eyes widened. Donald beat me to the punch, calling "A Guard Armor!" At the mention of its name the Heartless started forward, and I pointed my Keyblade at it before calling "Triple Firaga!"

Three blasts of fire shat at it and left burnt streaks along the metal, and the Guard Armor whirred before spinning its hands across the ground. I grunted as one slammed into my chest and sent me back, forcing me to cast Cure to heal any injured ribs. Sora ran up and swung from overhead, nearly tearing the beast's left hand in half with the force of the blow. I smiled; while Sora may not have experience, he did have strength. Goofy threw his shield like a Frisbee and it hit the same hand, further damaging it, and once Donald froze it with Blizzard it was strong enough to be destroyed.

The Guard Armor whirred before it balled up its metallic fist, walking towards Sora and swinging. He blocked the blow and sent the fist back, but as it wasn't properly attached to the Armor's body it could, and did, simply spun around and shot back at Sora. It kept on him, launching punch after punch and sending him skidding back across the ground. "Sora!" I called, running forward trying to get in between. But the Heartless flipped itself over and kicked me in the stomach, making me double over as the wind was knocked out of me.

A swift punch and another kick sent me to the side, sprawled and wheezing as my Keyblade skittered away across the ground. Donald shouted "Thunder!" casting that very spell and directly it straight at the Heartless. The metal buzzed and coursed through its metallic body and caused it to jerk and shudder, turning away from the exhausted Sora and starting towards Donald. I picked myself up off the ground and grabbed Stormfall. Goofy handed me a Potion before charging forward, turning himself into a battering ram and slamming into the Armor. The force of the impact knocked it off balance, and I ran forward before casting Quake. Boulders of earth erupted from underneath the cobblestones and slashed into the monster's feet.

It back pedaled, trying to regain its balance. I smiled and Donald did as well, casting a volley of Fire spells until the metal of the remaining arm glowed red. "Nice work, Donald!" I called, before running forward and calling "Deep Freeze!" Instantly the whole of the Guard Armor was enveloped in ice, forcing the expanded metal of the arm to contract suddenly, turning it brittle. The ice shuddered before shattering, the Heartless breaking free and looking straight at me. I smiled and waved, saying "Take that!" and throwing Stormfall at it. My Keyblade spun end over end through the air, hitting the arm and shattering it.

Now all it had left were its two feet, and I nodded to Sora before pointing at them. He smiled and nodded, and we both ran forward. We both stabbed our Keyblades into a respective foot, and I placed my hand on the tops of both before casting Mega Flare. The air turned to pure heat, Stormfall and Kingdom Key exploding in a blast that destroyed both feet and sent the rest of the Guard Armor flying through the air. Once the flames faded I handed Kingdom key back to Sora, who smiled at me.

"All right, let's get it!" Sora called, both Donald and Goofy nodding. I watched as the three of them ran forward, already a team despite having known each other for less than a day. The thought reminded me of Terra, aqua and Ven, and for a second I saw the three of them before me. I blinked and cleared my eyes, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy again instead of my friends. The guard Armor rose back into the air and pointed the bottom of its chest armor at Sora and the others.

An orb of black and blue energy, white at its center, formed and my eyes widened, running forward just as it fired. It hit Sora straight in the chest and detonated, sending him flying until he crashed onto the ground next to me. Donald and Goofy tried to pick up the slack, but the Guard Armor sent them both back with a single blast. I ran forward and cast Triple Blizzaga, but it hit me as well and I skidded back across the ground, shouting in pain as my skin was badly burnt and my arm was broken.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy had yet to get up, and I said "Come on guys, get up!" Sora tried to, but at the last moment his strength failed him, and he fell back down. "I… can't…" he said weakly, and I looked over Donald and Goofy. The two of them were almost unconscious, barely moving and badly injured. I looked last at the Guard Armor, who was preparing one final blast. It was then that I made a decision; I would have to unleash the full power that I possessed. Not the powers of twilight that I had long ago, but the very thing that had made regain my memories and allowed me to once again travel the worlds.

Sighing, I stabbed my Keyblade into the ground and said "Sora, Donald, Goofy, I don't care how hurt you are. Get away, before something bad happens." The calm tone in voice was more terrifying than any rage, and the three of them picked themselves up and ran to the edge of the area as quickly as possible. I reached deep within myself and felt the maelstrom of power in my core emerge, and I shouted in pain as my fingernails suddenly lengthened, turning into long black claws. Gossamer threads of dark power rose from my body as I was enveloped in a black, shadowy aura.

My eye turned glowed as they turned into solid red orbs, and I growled ferally as I picked up Stormfall, the same black aura surrounding me engulfing it. The Guard Armor whirred in surprise, stopping as the air suddenly turned ice-cold. My voice, deepened and altered by the power I had released, said "_You made a grave mistake in choosing to fight me today. And for that..._"I smiled "_You must perish._" It whirred and I ran forward, slashing at the Armor's body and watching with satisfaction as the metal shredded like paper.

The Armor creaked in surprise, but before it had a chance to attack I cast Dark Firaga, throwing a ball of pitch-black flame at the Heartless and watching it explode. The Heartless fell back and I didn't relent, pointing my Keyblade at it and calling "_Chaos Blade!_" Darkness surrounded my body and I shot forward, slamming into the Guard Armor and charging back at it over and over. It spun around and covered itself in whirlwind, spinning away from me before I could deal the final blow. "_Nice try!_" I called, pointing my Keyblade at it and focusing my power.

It stopped and charged power as well, both of us standing still and preparing to deal the final blow. Then, just as it fired I called "_Dark Splicer!_" and shot forward. My body was engulfed in dark energy as I shot forward, and the Guard Armor fired its largest blast yet. But despite the size of it I cut though, slashing the blast straight in half and not even watching as the two pieces exploded. I stabbed Stormfall into the Guard Armor and poured my power into it, a high-pitched keening filling the air before Stormfall exploded.

The blast created a torrent of flames that, rather than blinded me with light, temporarily obscured the sight of the Heartless within the darkness. When it faded the Guard Armor shuddered for a second, quivering in pain before the head fell to the ground. The top of the chest armor glowed before a heart rose out of it, and the entire body of the Guard Armor vanished into thin air. I shuddered and took a deep breath, sighing deeply as I felt my power begin to recede. My eye and nails returned to usual, the dark aura around me fading and the chill in the air disappearing.

Slowly Sora and the others approached me, and Goofy asked "Dexal? What was that?" I looked at them. "The absolute limits of my power. I didn't want to use it, but I had no choice of we were to survive," I explained. Rather than look appalled like I expected him to, Sora grinned and said "That was awesome! How do you do that? Is it some secret power with the Keyblade?" I blinked and stared for a second, before shaking my head and smiling. "Sorry, the way I got that kind of power had nothing to do with the Keyblade."

Sora frowned and pouted, sad that he wouldn't be to use power like that as well. He would be lucky if he never did; the way I received that kind of power was I fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I shook my head and dismissed Stormfall, clearing my head of thoughts while the four of us walked back to the First District.

xxx

"So, you were looking for me?" Sora asked Donald and Goofy, who nodded. "They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon said, and I smiled. "We must be in higher demand than I thought," I said. Cid grunted. "You got no idea." "Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," Goofy suggested. Sora looked away. "I wonder if we could find Riku and Kairi," he muttered, and Donald said "Of course!" Goofy leaned his head over. "Really?" he asked. Donald shrugged, jerking his thumb at Sora. "Who knows? But we him to come with us to help us find the King."

"Donald!" I said reproachfully, clipping him on the back of the head so hard his hat came off. He squawked angrily and picked it up, but when he saw my face he crossed his arms. "Alright, alright, we'll look for them too!" "Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," Leon advised. He still looked unhappy, but said "Yeah, I guess." "But you can't come looking like that!" Donald instructed. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Goofy chuckled. "Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Donald pushed his face away, saying "This boat runs on happy faces."

"Happy?" Sora asked, and they nodded. There was silence for a moment, until Sora made one of the worst fake smiles that I had ever seen. Slowly it broke, and he wondered whether it had worked. I couldn't help it; I busted out laughing. Donald and Goofy did as well, Goofy commenting "That's one funny face!" Now in much better spirits, Sora said "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys." "And don't forget me. As one of the last Keyblade Masters left in the worlds, it's my sworn duty to make sure that you learn how to properly use that thing," I reminded them.

"Sure thing, Dexal!" Goofy said, and when Donald said "Donald Duck!" he added "Name's Goofy!" "I'm Sora," Sora said, placing his hand on top of theirs. "Well, you all already know my name," I said, placing my hand on top. "All for one, one for all!" Goofy declared. I smiled, nodding.

While we made our promise, far away in another world completely, a group of individuals sat around a stone table in the darkness. "That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" one male asked. Another, one whose voice was much deeper, said "Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own." One woman suggested "Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough." "And of course he has that confounded Dexal by his side, along with those two friends who are the King's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the looks of them!" a third male commented.

One more pointed out "You're no prize yourself," before laughing. "Shut up!" the third yelled, but before it could the two started arguing a woman, one with green skin, a pair of large horns and wearing a black and purple dress, called "Enough. The Keyblade has chosen them, both of them. Will it be they who conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful…"

xxx

Oh brother, what could the villains of Disney be planning? Either way, next chapter the journey across the worlds begins!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.7 Wonderland

Once Sora, Donald, Goofy and I left traverse Town we did so through a large door. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and when it faded we were in the seats of huge spaceship. I blinked. "What the heck?" I asked. "Welcome to our Gummi Ship!" Donald announced. "We use this to travel through all the worlds. But the Heartless ships always give us a bad time," Goofy informed us. There was a bust of static, and a high-pitched squeaky voice said "That's right!" "Who's that?" Sora asked. "Hey there, my name's Chip, and this is Dale!" the voice answered. "We're the engineers and mechanics of the Gummi ship! Another voice, presumably Dale, added.

I looked around, trying to find them, and asked "Well, where are you?" "We're back in our world, Disney Castle. But we've camped ourselves in the Gummi ship launch room with enough acorns to last a year, so whenever you all need us we'll be right there at the radio!" Chip explained. Donald cleared his throat. "Ahem, thank you. But we have to get moving, got a lot of worlds to explore!" he said. "But wait, we didn't get to tell Sora and Dexal how to fly the shi-" Dale tried to say, but Donald turned off the radio before he could finish. "You don't need to worry about flying this thing; we and Goofy can take care of that," he said. I raised an eyebrow but shrugged, settling back in my seat while Donald turned on the ignition and flew us through the space between worlds.

xxx

A while later, after watching Donald shoot his way through more Heartless ships than I could care to count, we arrived a world that I had never seen before. Sora beat me to the punch by saying "What world is this?" Goofy took a look at the navigation screen and said "A-hyuck! I've never seen it before, but it's called Wonderland!" "Huh, never heard of it," I commented. "Well then, let's go!" Sora said, already drawing his Keyblade. Donald shook his head in wonder at Sora's energy while I smiled, and he pressed a large green button on the control board.

Instantly we were enveloped in light and teleported, ending in a large hole, which we promptly fell through. "Aah! Donald!" I yelled. Said duck had the decency to look sheepish, while Sora and Goofy were silent. The hole seemed to have no bottom, and we kept falling... and falling... and falling. Goofy even put his arms behind his head and fell asleep, but not long after he did I saw a patch of red far below. It grew wider, until I realized that it was a tiled floor. Sora, Donald, and I landed on our feet while Goofy smacked down on the floor, his sleep coming to an abrupt end.

Before I could laugh however, I was distracted by one of the strangest things I had seen in all the worlds, which was saying something. A white rabbit wearing a suit of glasses, carrying a pocket-watch the size of his head, ran past us with an exhausted and terrified expression. "Oh my fur and whiskers, I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! Oh dear, I'm here, I should be there! Oh the queen, she'll have my head for sure!" he yelled, sprinting past us with the speed of, well, a rabbit. We stared after him, before I said "What was that all about?" "Let's follow him and find out!" Sora suggested.

Donald and Goofy nodded, and we walked through the hallway. At the end was a large gray door, which opened to reveal a smaller brown door, which in turn opened to show us a regular yellow door, which opened to the next room. We went through, ending in a room with a small table and chair, a reading chair and book table, bed, stove, and a tiny door with a large knob that the rabbit ran through. I blinked; did he get smaller? I looked at Sora and he nodded; he had noticed it too.

Sora walked towards the door and got on all fours, examining it. "How did he get so small?" he wondered. Then suddenly eyes opened on the doorknob, and in a rather nasal voice it said "No, you're just simply too big." "Waak! It talks!" Donald exclaimed. The doorknob yawned loudly. "Must you be so loud? You woke me up!' he told us. "Good morning!" Goofy said, and he replied "Good night! I need a bit more sleep." "So we've got a near-bottomless holes, an anthropomorphous rabbit, and a talking doorknob that needs to get some sleep. What's next?" I thought aloud. "Wait, what do we have to do to grown small?" Sora asked the doorknob.

"Why don't you try that bottle... over there?" he suggested, gesturing behind us. We turned and saw a blue and yellow bottle appear on the table out of a puff of smoke. The blue one had a picture of a small tree, with an arrow pointing to a smaller one, while the yellow bottle was the other way around. "Guess that answers my question," I noted. "Well come on, let's try it!" Sora said, grabbing the blue one. I stopped him and said "Wait! We don't know anything else that might happen if we drink this. I'll go first to make it's safe." He looked at and nodded, handing the bottle to me.

I placed it to my lips and drank, and smoke enveloped my body while everything around me suddenly grew to enormous proportions. "Hey, it worked!" Goofy said, and I covered my ears from the sudden magnitude of his voice. "Oww! Goofy, could you talk a little more quietly?!" I asked. Donald laughed. "Do have any idea how squeaky your voice sounds now?" he commented. I glared at him, and ran forward while summoning Stormfall. I charged my blade with a Fire spell until it was red-hot, and stabbed it into his foot. Donald shouted in pain and jumped up, holding his injured foot while hopping on the other.

"Ow, ow, it burns, it burns, it burns!" he yelled. "Not so funny now, huh? Now get your feathered behind down here. We have a King to find!" I called. "And my friends!" Sora added. Wincing at the volume of his voice as well, I nodded and summoned Stormfall back to my hand. Throughout the whole exchange Goofy merely laughed with a hand covering his mouth, and took a drink of the bottle before passing it Sora. He drank as well and Donald, grumbling and casting a Cure spell on his foot, went last. All three of them were covered in smoke, and when it faded they were the same size as me.

"Alright then, let's get through that door!" Goofy said. We agreed and went over to the doorknob, but by now he had fallen asleep. And despite our best efforts, he didn't wake up. "Now what do we do?" Donald asked. We all looked around the room, hoping to gain some clues, when I saw what might have been a doorway, only it was blocked by the bed. I pointed it out, and Sora asked "Does that mean we have to drink the other bottle just so we could push that out of the way?" "Not necessarily," I said, walking forward. "If we're in a world as wacked-out as this one, then it stands to reason that I could..." I began.

I moved into a battle pose and summoned my strength, calling "Do this! Brutal Blast!" and swinging Stormfall until it slammed into the bed. It slid into the wall with little resistance, becoming a mere side painting and revealing the other doorway. I dismissed Stormfall and said "After you." The moment I said that however a squad of Shadows, four in all, rose out of the ground. Shouting, I re-summoned my Keyblade while Sora drew his, and Donald and Goofy got their staff and shields. "Take this!" Sora called, swinging his Kingdom Key from around and into one of their stomachs.

Goofy ran forward and used his shield as battering ram, hitting the same one and destroying it. The death of one their brethren angered the Heartless, and while the other three lowered into the ground a trio of Red Nocturnes appeared. "Blizzard!" Donald called, and hit two of them with shards of ice. Being weak to ice they fell back, but then cast Fire and hit him in return. He frowned and cast Thunder, pelting them with bolts of lightning that destroyed the two of them. Sora jumped up and attacked the third, while Goofy and I attacked the three Shadows that rose out of the ground.

In a matter of minutes all the Heartless had fallen, and once they were one we walked through the doorway. To my surprise a huge hedged area was on the other side. Ahead was a throne, upon which sat a rather, er, "plush" woman with short black hair wearing a red and black dress. Soldiers that were actually living cards stood around the edge, while in the center stood a young girl. She had long blonde hair that reached her ankles with a headband, blue eyes and dress, black shoes and a white apron and stockings. The White Rabbit from before ran up a set of steps, before putting a trumpet to his lips and blowing. "Court is now in session!" he called.

"I'm on trial? But why?" the girl asked. The woman in the dress leaned forward, looking at her and saying "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is... because I say so, that's why!" "That is totally unfair!" the girl protested. The Rabbit's eyes widened in alarm, and he covered his mouth to stifle a gasp. "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so... so mean!" the girl said. "Silence!" the queen yelled. "You dare defy me?" I didn't like the way this was going, and neither did Sora. "Hey guys, we should help her out," he said. "Yeah, but the-" Donald began. "We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" Goofy asked. "Meddling!" Donald corrected him. "Oh yeah. And that's against the rules," he reminded us.

"The court finds the defendant... guilty as charged!" the Queen announced. "For the crimes of assault, and attempted theft of my heart." At that both Sora and I gasped, realizing the truth. "Off with her head!" she ordered, and the cards stepped forward. "No! No! Oh please!" the girl pleaded. "Hold it right there!" Sora yelled, he and I running forward. "Who are you? Hold dare you interfere with my court?" she demanded. "This trial is a farce! We can tell you who the real culprit is!" I called. "Uh-huh. It's the Heartle-" Goofy began, but I placed a hand over his mouth. "Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for!" Sora told her.

"That's nonsense. Have you any proof?" the Queen asked. We hesitated, and she realized that we didn't have any. One of the guards pushed the girl into a bird cage and locked it, while another spun a wheel and it rose into the air. "Bring me proof of Alice's innocence, or it's off with all of your heads! Bring as much or as little evidence as you please. Report back here once you're ready," she instructed, before sitting back in her throne. I looked at the others. They shrugged; looks like we had no choice. But now just one question resided in my head: How were we going to find evidence?

xxx

Well, there's the start of Wonderland, as large a mix of humorous and dangerous as they come. But will Dexal and they others find the evidence they need? And even then, can they save Alice?

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.8 Search for Evidence

Faced with the task of finding evidence to prove that Alice was innocent, we decided to ask Alice herself for clues. "Why hello. I'm dreadfully sorry for getting you involved in all this, and I don't even know you're names," she said. "I'm Sora, and this is Donald, Goofy and Dexal," Sora said, gesturing at each of us in turn. "Charmed. But since we're trying to prove you're innocent, do you have any idea where to find some clues?" I asked. "I met a Cheshire Cat in the forest. He may know something," she said. "Be silent! You may not speak to the defendant!' one of the cards yelled. I glared at him, but looked at the others. They shrugged, and we walked through the doorway in the side of the hedge into the forest.

It was huge, filled with enormous closed flowers and lily pads. But as large as it was, that also presented a problem. "How are we gonna find the evidence in here?" Donald asked. I was about to answer, but then the head of a grinning cat appeared in the air. It vanished, reappearing a second and then a third time. The third time the body appeared as well, and the cat lifted up its head up put it back on its neck. "Who are you?" Donald asked, and I said "Are you the Cheshire Cat?" "Am I, or am I not? That is the question. Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head and she's not guilty of a thing!" he said.

"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!" Sora told him. "The Cheshire Cat knows has all the answer, but doesn't always tell. The answers, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness," the Cheshire Cat said, before vanishing. "Hey!" I called. Although we couldn't see him, he said "They've already left the forest, I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all. "Should we trust him?" Donald asked, and he replied "To trust or not to trust? I'll trust you to decide!" I looked at the others. "Well, looks like this is the best lead we've got. Let's split up and search the forest first," I suggested.

They nodded, and we broke off to look throughout the area. As I passed by one of the flowers, a large yellow one, I heard a voice whisper "Psst!" I stopped looking around for whoever it was. "Hey, you there! Feed me a Potion, and I'll make you big!" it offered. I kept turning my head back and forth, until it said "In front of you!" and I looked at the flower. I should have been surprised, but after seeing a talking rabbit, doorknob, cards and cat, a talking flower wasn't that big a stretch. "Why would I want to grow bigger?" I asked it. "Just trust me! And give me a Potion!" it said.

Shaking my head at the fact I was talking to a flower, I pulled a Potion out of my pocket and poured it on its petals. It sighed, and suddenly I was wrapped in green light before I grew back to my normal size. "What the-?" I yelled, seeing the others look at me from below. "Whoa, Dexal! How'd you get so big?" Goofy asked. "I don't know! How do I undo this?' I asked, walking carefully so as to not crush anything. "Beats me," Donald said. I looked around for some sort of solution, and accidentally stepped on one of the huge lily pads. It sank right into the floor, and when it did another rose straight up into the air.

Startled, I foolishly drew my Keyblade. It hit the larger tree and a huge red fruit fell to the ground, just the perfect size for me to eat. "Hey, maybe taking a bite out of that will make you grow smaller!" Sora suggested. I looked at it, and shrugged, picking the fruit up and taking a bite. It was sweet and sour at the same time, and I shrunk back down to my normal size. I sighed. "Whew, that's better," I said, before noticing a small pink box. Tapping it with Stormfall, it opened to reveal a set of footprints. "Hey guys! I found a clue!" I said. They came to see it and I showed it to them. "Great, but where are the other three?" Donald asked.

I looked around, but Sora saw a doorway on the side of the tree and pointed to it. "How about we go through there?" he suggested. We did so, but the moment we set foot through the doorway we fell down a hole. "Not again!" I called, but then it opened to show the Bizarre Room, and we fell onto the side of the fireplace. And right next to us was another box. "There it is! Nice idea, Sora!" Goofy commented. I nodded, and let Sora do the honors of opening it. A huge waft of air poured out, along with a scent that I recognized as the Heartless. "What the-? How are we going to show that to the queen now?!" Donald called.

"Hold on a sec. Aeroga!" I called. A huge whirlwind appeared around us and drew in the scent, sucking it back into the box before I shut it. "Only two to go," I said. "Okay, then let's get back to the forest!" Sora said. As if to tempt fate however, a Large Body and three Red Nocturnes appeared, and I shouted as the Body shoved us off the edge of the fireplace. Once we hit the ground a pair of Shadows rose up, and from above all three of the Nocturnes cast Fire. "Oh come on!" Donald protested, dodging the spells along with us. Sora jumped up and slashed at one of them, while Goofy and I ran at the Shadows.

One of them jumped forward to claw at me, and I blocked the blow before countering. Goofy raised his shield with both hands and hit the other Shadow on the head without, resulting in an oddly satisfying _thunk!_ The Shadow wobbled about, dazed, and I cast Magnet to draw it towards me. The spell also drew in the other Shadow, and I jumped up and slashed at both of them. They burst into darkness and the Large Body immediately jumped down, taking their place. Donald cast Blizzard and pelted the Nocturnes with ice, nearly destroying two while Sora brought his Keyblade down and defeated the third. The Large Body swung at Goofy, who blocked the blow with his shield and was sent back slightly.

"Now you've asked for it!" I called, jumping up and saying "Slot Raid!" I threw my Keyblade at it and hit the Heartless in the side, before I came back to me and I threw it again. Both times a bell appeared over its head, and when I threw it a third time and another bell appeared munny started raining down. Grinning, I collected the munny while simultaneously casting Seeker Mine, creating a set of magical explosives on the ground which instantly homed in on the Body. They exploded once they were close enough, and the Large Body was briefly raised into the air before another mine went off and it exploded.

Donald cast Blizzard again and destroyed the last Nocturne, Sora having beaten down the other two. For a second we didn't move, making sure the coast was clear before we headed back through the doorway to the forest. The queen was surprised to see us all pass through the same way twice, but we paid her no mind. Once back in the forest we resumed our search, finding a pair of antennae in a third box. But no matter how hard we searched, we couldn't find box number 4. "Where could it be?" Sora wondered, checking behind a large red flower. "Maybe it's in the Bizarre Room, and we just didn't take a good enough look!" Goofy suggested.

"But we've already gone through every possible doorway to it. It isn't like there another, is there?" I asked, looking around from on top of a mushroom. "Wait a minute! What about that one?" Sora asked, pointing. We looked in the direction he pointed and saw a doorway, one that was directly beyond the platform I had accidentally raised. "That's it! Let's go!" Donald said, immediately running towards it and jumping through. I looked at the others and they shrugged, following. We fell through a hole again, but this time we landed on a large faucet on the other side of the fireplace.

And right in front of us across the wide gap was the fourth clue.

"Hey, there it is!" Goofy exclaimed. Donald looked uncertain. "But how are we going to get across? I'm not sure we could jump that far," he said. Goofy just smiled. "Don't worry, I can do it!" We let him walk to the edge, and he placed his hands together before jumping forward like he was taking a dive. It didn't work, and he sailed right down to land on the floor below. "Goofy! Are you alright?" Sora called. "Gawrsh, that really hurt!" he said, but he was still alive. "Well, think you can do it Donald?" I asked. He looked unsure, but ran forward and jumped.

He failed as well, only coming a foot short. Donald realized this and tried to flap his arms to get closer, but he was a duck, not a chicken, and fell down as well. Sora looked at them, before saying "Got any ideas on how to cross?" I looked at the gap, trying to come up with a way. I stood there for a about a minute, until it hit me. The idea was so obvious that I almost hit myself on the head for not thinking of it sooner. Okay, just jump over the edge as far as you can. Trust me," I said. He looked at me hesitantly, but I nodded and so did he. Sora bent his knees and clenched his hands into fists, putting all his strength in his leg before leaping forward.

Indeed Sora went farther than the others, but I knew that he wouldn't make it. So I waited until he was at the height of his jump, and then called "Aeroga!" and pointed Stormfall at him. A blast of air hit him directly in the back, pushing Sora forward just enough that the distance was covered. He landed on his feet; knees bent to absorb the impact, and looked back at me. "It worked!" he said delightedly. "Great. Now open the box!" Donald called from below. He did so, and told us that inside was a set of claw marks. Instantly the Cheshire Cat appeared beside me, and I jumped so far back I nearly fell off the faucet.

"Well, look at what you found. Nice going," he said. "Now we can save Alice!" Sora said excitedly. "Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?" he asked. I looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?" I asked. He smiled wider. "I won't tell. But I'll give you something," he said, and tossed a ball of blue-white energy at Sora. Without calling it his Keyblade appeared, and the ball hit the Kingdom Key and sank _into_ it. It glowed slightly before fading, the Kingdom Key disappearing. The Cheshire Cat disappeared, and Sora asked "What was that?"

"I think… that was the power of ice. Sora, I do believe you were just given the spell Blizzard," I said. He looked at his hand in awe, before drawing the Kingdom Key and calling "Deep Freeze!" Shard of ice shot from it and forward and I just happened to me right in the line of fire. With a shout they hit me straight in the chest and encased my torso in ice, the extra weight causing me to slip off the faucet and fall to the floor below like a rock. On impact the ice shattered, and from above Sora called "Sorry! Are you okay?" Groaning, I stood and shook my head. "Yeah, I'm good! Just get down here so we can go present this evidence!" I called. He did so, and we walked back to the Queen and Alice.

xxx

The evidence has been gathered, but can Sora and the others use it to save Alice? And will the Heartless still try to mess up things?

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.9 Kidnapping

The four of us walked up to one of the card soldiers, and he asked "Are you ready to present evidence before the queen?" We nodded, and he said "Very well. Counsel, step up to the podium." Donald and Goofy were led to a side podium while Sora stood in the front, and I laid the four boxes of evidence on the ground before her. "Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards, bring forth my evidence!" she ordered. They walked forward too, when suddenly another box appeared at the end, and the five of them rose into the air, spinning around at blurring speed before falling back down to the ground.

The Queen frowned. "Hm, checking all for would be waste of time. Alright then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence," she said. I looked up, jaw unhinged in disbelief while Sora called "What? After all the trouble of collecting it?!" "You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now, choose! One box!" she demanded. I glared at her and was about to argue further when Sora sighed. "Fine. Then I choose... the middle box!" he announced. Before the queen could stop me I picked up the box, opening it. A Soldier Heartless burst out of it, and was about to jump at the Queen when I grabbed it by the back and cast Fira, instantly incinerating it.

"What in the world was that?" she asked. "Now do you see?" I asked. "You have your evidence. Now let Alice go!" Sora called. The Queen looked frustrated, before slamming her fists down and calling "Silence! I am the law here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!" "What?!" I yelled; hardly able to believe such a foolish law. "Cards! Seize them at once!" she ordered, and they ran forward. The hedges around us vanished, while a tower with a wheel rose out of the ground in the center of the area. One of the cards spun the wheel and the cage holding Alice rose into the air. "Cards! If one of them touches the tower, you lose your heads!" the Queen said, and they ran at us.

More out of fear than sense of duty, a card that happened to a seven of diamonds jabbed its spear at me. I dodged the blow easily and thought of a way to keep them away while breaking down the tower. A three of aces swung its ax and Donald shouted as it caught him on the tail, shearing one of his tail feathers in half. Literally blast of steam issued from his ears, and he called "Oh yeah?! Take this!" He pointed his staff at the cards and began casting Fire and Blizzard in rapid succession, his anger lending him strength. I smiled; there you go. Sora swung his Keyblade at hit the tower hard enough to create a crack in the wood. He and I both smiled, and while he kept wailing away at it I made sure no cards came close.

"Get them you fools!" the queen called. The eight of clubs pushed Goofy out of the way to try and get me, but I pointed Stormfell into the air and called "Gather!" casting Magnega. A pair of orbs, one blue and one orange, spun in the air and created a current of magnetic energy that drew all nearby soldiers in. While they were tossed about in the air I also waited until enough were close, and then called "Stop!" Time froze around the cards and they hung in midair, providing the perfect targets for Goofy and I to attack. Donald cast Fire and set the word of the tower aflame, but one of the cards ran forward with, to my surprise, a bucket of water. "Hey!" I called, but by then it was too late. He had dumped the contents on the tower and doused the flames.

Glaring angrily at the card, he realized his mistake and said "Wait! I was just following orders! There was no other choice-" he began, before I cast Deep Freeze and froze him on the spot. "There is always a choice," I said, before tuning to the others. "Don't even think about it!" I called, seeing them about to charge. "Attack, and I will freeze you on the spot like I did this one," I threatened, jerking my thumb at the ice block behind me. I was bluffing of course; I once had the power to freeze all of them at once, but now I could only achieve such a feat if I unleashed the full scale of my power. Even more than I did in the fight against the Guard Armor. Still, the threat seemed to convince the cards, as they hesitated a second, shuffling around nervously.

"What are you waiting for?! Get them!" The Queen yelled at them. That got them over it, and as one the cards charged forward, calling for battle. I braced myself and prepared to bring about my full strength, Keyblade trembling as the chaotic storm in my being rose from the depths of my inner self. The air suddenly turned ice-cold, and I growled angrily as my nails lengthened and turned into claws. A black aura bloomed around the edges of my body and I called "_Stop!_" The new strength in my voice, sheer power that called for obedience, made them stop and even gave the queen pause. "_I warn you, do not take another step forward. Do so, and you will forfeit yourselves to the endless darkness_," I warned them.

They listened and no one tried to take a step forward, until the Queen said "These are _my_ soldiers, you fool! They do as _I _command! And I command that they attack!" Slowly I turned to her, smiling so coldly the chill in the air was burning in comparison. "_Foolish ruler, do you have any idea _why_ the Heartless desired your heart so?_" I asked. She opened her mouth, but realized that she had no idea and didn't say anything. I chuckled. "_The Heartless desired your heart because of the darkness within it, the darkness that is always seen within those who are corrupted by power._"

I pointed Stormfell at her and my smiled grew wider, turning from cold to almost feral. "_Maybe I should just destroy you and solve the problem,_: I said, stepping towards her. Her eyes widened and she tried to move back, only to realize in fear that she was already against the wall. The cards ran forward to try and defend their queen, but I waved my hand and quietly whispered "Tornado." A massive cyclone of air rose out of the ground in front of me, drawing all the cards that stood in my way before tossing them to the side. Slowly I walked forward, the dark power running through me giving me an amount of strength that was almost intoxicating. On some level I was aware that these actions weren't like me, but I was too focused on what was before me that I barely cared.

I could _see_ the darkness inside this queen's heart, an amount that made my mouth water at the thought of consuming it. Wait, consume it? I frowned and stopped, shaking my head. Where had that notion come from? "Dexal! Stop!" Sora called, standing in front of me and distracting me enough that the Tornado spell dissipated. "The tower's almost broken, you don't have to do that!" he said, and I looked down at him. "_She has ordered our deaths, as well as Alice's. If we are to survive, she cannot live_," I said. "That's not true, we can rescue Alice and then get out of here! No one needs to get hurt!" he protested. An unexpected yearning rose within me, an almost overwhelming desire to shove him out of the way, and destroy the woman's heart regardless of his protests.

At that I gasped, realizing why I was acting this way. I had let the power within me rise too much. Taking a step back, I grabbed the power within my mind and forced it back down, feeling it struggle and thrash beneath my grip. But my will was as strong as steel, tempered by hardships from years ago and the decision I had made when I once again began to roam the worlds. That I would never fall to the darkness. Working my head from side-to-side, I raised my Keyblade and glared at the queen, before throwing Stormfell behind me. It stabbed into the tower and I sent a wave of pure power through it. There was a high-pitched keening and the tower literally disintegrated, turning into a pile of splinters and pebbles.

My voice back to normal, I said "You're right, Sora; we don't need to hurt people. Let's just get Alice and get out of here." He smiled and nodded his thanks, and Donald and Goofy lowered the cage. We looked inside as the curtain was pulled way, only for us to all gasp in shock. Alice had been put in the cage, unable to get out.

And yet she wasn't there.

"Where'd she go?" Donald asked. "She must have gotten kidnapped when we were fighting," Sora told him. "You fools! Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" the Queen called, trying to reestablish her authority. Taking the chance to get out of trouble, all four of us nodded and ran out into the forest. Once there though, we were stopped the appearance of our old friend, the Cheshire Cat. "Have you seen Alice?" Donald asked. "Alice, no. Shadows, yes!" he said happily. "Where did they go?" Goofy asked. "This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows! Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" he said happily, before disappearing.

"Upside-down room? What does that mean?" Donald asked. "Well, he said to head to an empty garden. So let's do that and maybe we'll find out!" Goofy suggested. It was a good plan, so we went with it and walked deeper into the forest. Indeed at the end was a doorway, and when we went through we emerged in a night-time garden, one with a large table that was covered in teacups. At the end was a picture of a rabbit, a mouse and a crazy man with a hat. They seemed panicked, and when I put my hand against the picture I heard two voices call "Help!"

"What the-?" I began, before those same voices said "In here!" I looked at the picture, realizing that it was them. "You guy are real? How did you get inside the picture?" I asked. "We don't know! We were just having our un-birthday party when these creatures showed up, lifted us into the air and threw us at this picture. We went straight through, and now we're trapped!" the rabbit said. "Well, how do we get you out?" Sora asked. "There are still monsters around. I think if you beat them we can make it out!" the Mad Hatter said. "Well, they're supposed to be in an upside-down room. Do you know where that might be?" Goofy questioned. "We do actually. Take that door!" hey said, pointing to out left. Indeed there was a door, and we thanked them before walking through.

The minute we walked through thought, we found out that the Bizarre Room truly did live up to its name. We were walking on the ceiling. "What in the name of Merlin?" Donald called, looking around. Just then the Cheshire Cat reappeared, wearing the same grin as usual. "They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Trying turning on the light," he said, before vanishing again. We ran up to the light and Sora and I looked at each other, before raising our Keyblades and casting Fire, lighting the candles. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after that doorknob, too," he said.

Our eyes widened and I gasped. "The doorknob! Back down there!" I said, pointing at the floor above us. "Gawrsh, we gotta hurry!" Goofy said. Sora, Donald and I nodded, and we ran for the exit. Before we got far though, Heartless appeared. Grunting angrily, Sora and I drew our Keyblades and ran forward, Sora calling "Out of our way!"

xxx

Noo! Even despite their efforts Alice is gone! But there is still time to save the doorknobs, and do so by defeating the Trickmaster!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.10 Keyhole

We reached the Bizarre Room, this time walking on the floor, and the Cheshire Cat appeared on the table. "You'll have a better view from higher up," he said. "Why do we need a view? Where are the Heartless?" I asked. "You can see where the are from up here," he replied. Rolling my eyes, I climbed onto the top of the table alone with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The Cheshire Cat bounced excitedly. "The shadows should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" he said, and pointed straight up. We looked in that direction and a giant Heartless leaped down from the ceiling, hitting the ground with its hands and leaping _over_ us to stand on the other side of the table.

I recognized the Heartless as a Trickmaster, and I noted that it appearing in Wonderland was oddly befitting. Alternating faces of red and black, all with two yellow eye and zig-zag frowns, were staked on top of each other to form a tower-shaped head. Connected it a stick-like torso were long, paper-thin arms which ended in purple clawed hands. Purple shoes covered a pair of feet, each of which was connected a separate pair of legs. The Trickmaster held two batons, which it juggles as it looked at the four of us. "Good luck," the Cheshire Cat said, before disappearing. I glared at the spot where he had been, before calling to the others "We have to get down! Jump off the table!"

They did as I said and jumped off, just as the Trickmaster swung and almost hit us with its batons. I pointed Stormfell at the Heartless and called "Blizzaga!" hitting it with a giant ice crystal. It took a step back from the force of the hit, shivering in cold before it shot a fireball at me. I rolled to the side and avoided it, and Donald jumped up and cast Blizzard. The spell was weaker than mine but had the same effect, only this time he was in the air and couldn't dodge the fireball. It hit him on the back and ignited, setting his tail feathers on fire. "Ow ow, hot hot hot!" he yelled, dropping his staff and running around. "Donald!" Goofy called, and tried to stop him but ended up getting bowled over. Sora cast Blizzard but missed; Donald was running around just too fast.

The Trickmaster took our distraction as I chance to attack, and swung it's baton at Goofy like a baseball bat. He saw it at the last second and managed to block with his shield. The sheer force of the blow though sent him skidding across the edge, his shield striking sparks and it slid across the tiles. Sora jumped up and called "Come on!" before swinging his Keyblade horizontally and slamming it into the Heartless's chest. It fell back and teetered on one foot, before he hit again and knocked it over. "Oh for the love of Mickey!" I called, casting Magnet to draw Donald to me before I put out the flames. "You're fine. Now, attack!" I called, turning and running at the Trickmaster. Donald and Goofy followed behind, and we each attack a separate part of the monster's body.

Donald kept casting Blizzard over and over to try and freeze its legs, while Sora and I swung at the batons and Goofy repeatedly bashed it on the head with his shield. It stirred but didn't get up, and I called "Wind Raid!" before throwing Stormfell at the baton. The impact creating a delightful _smack_ and thanks to the current of wind around my Keyblade it flew back and hit the baton again and again before returning to my hand. The Trickmaster awoke and flailed around, knocking us away before it jumped to its feet. We tried to attack but it walked away, straight for the stove over the fireplace. I was confused, until it placed one of the batons on it and the baton suddenly lit aflame.

"What?!" I called, and then dove to the side as it fired another fireball at me. Goofy threw his shield and it spun through the air, hitting one of the monster's leg and imbedding itself in there. The Trickmaster faltered and reached down, grasping the shield and trying to pull it out. But then Goofy smiled and shook his finger from side to side, saying "Uh-uh-uh!" I looked at him and he smiled, before the shield glowed bright and exploded, creating that blast that pulled the Heartless's legs out from under it and made it fall face-first onto the floor. The shield flew through the air and Goofy caught it. I looked at him. "How in the world did you do that?" I asked. He smiled. "I may not like weapons, I sure do like that shield, so I asked Donald to put a spell on it for whenever a Heartless tried to touch it," he explained.

I smiled at the brilliance of it and turned back to the Heartless. "You're done!" I called, running forward and bringing my Keyblade down from overhead. It saw me coming and rolled out of the way, my Keyblade biting deep into the ground and staying there. While the Heartless stood I tried to pull Stormfell out of the ground, but it wouldn't budge. I tugged with all my might, arms bulging as my muscles tightened. Slowly it came out, and with a metallic scrape I pulled my Keyblade free. Not a second too late as well, because the Trickmaster shot a fireball at me and I just managed to use Barrier, bouncing back the fireball at the Heartless. The attack didn't faze it, and it swung both of its batons at Sora. One was blocked by his Keyblade while the other hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and knocking Sora to the ground.

Goofy tried to help but had to stay put, shielding both Donald and himself from a barrage of fireballs. While the Heartless kept them at by with one baton it placed the other and the stove, setting that one on fire as well. Now that both batons were on fire it kicked one of its feet and Goofy, knocking his shield to the side before hitting him. The fire spread from the batons to his clothes, and just like Donald his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. In this case, it chose flight. Goofy dropped the shield and began running around like a maniac, batting at the flames only to set his gloves on fire. I tried to draw him in within Magnet but this time he ran too fast for it to affect him.

Sora slowly stood and looked at Goofy, than at Donald who had also been set afire again, and finally at me. "This guy and his fire and too strong. What do we do?" I tried to think of a way, until it flashed in my head and I smiled. "Tell me Sora: What is the exact opposite of hot?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he replied "Cold." I looked at him and smiled, until the penny dropped and he gasped. "You... you don't mean... I don't have that kind of power!" he exclaimed. "But that the thing: You _do_ have that much power. You just need to concentrate in order to let it out come forth," I said.

He still looked unsure, but nodded and stood beside me. The Trickmaster was slowly walking towards us, savoring our imminent defeat. We both pointed our Keyblades at it and concentrated, focusing our powers so intensely it was as if our lives depended on it. Which it did. The metal of our Keyblade turned reflective, covered by a fine coating of ice as the air temperature around us abruptly plummeted, falling by the second until Sora's teeth chattered. I thought of all of my most power ice-type spells- Deep Freeze, Glacier, Ice Barrage, Triple Blizzaga- and combined them all into one ultimate attack. Both Sora I pulled out Keyblades back, until as one we thrust them forward and called "Snowstorm!"

Twin beams of blue-white energy shot from our Keyblades, hitting the Trickmaster in the chest and exploding. The world turned white as they energy created a blistering flurry of ice, snow, sleet, hail and tornado-level winds. The fires on Donald and Goofy were snuffed out like candles, while the Heartless kept swinging, shooting fireballs and slamming the batons into the ground to create waves of fire. But it was no match for the cold, and eventually it stopped moving as its body was frozen in ice. The winds faded and the snow vanished, revealing a frozen ice sculpture of the Trickmaster. Goofy walked it to the frozen monster and tapped it gently, and suddenly a crack formed in the ice.

The crack swiftly grew and spread, creating a fine spiderweb of them all over the Trickmaster's body in seconds. Then with the sound of breaking glass it shattered, and the Heartless dropped its batons as it fell to the ground. Its chest glowed and a heart shot out of it, rising into the air as the Trickmaster vanished. We all stood there for a second, until we heard a yawn and looked at the talking doorknob. "What a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" he asked, before yawning hugely. I saw the shape of a keyhole in its mouth, and suddenly a beam of light shot from Sora's Keyblade. It hit the keyhole and there was a loud click, before the keyhole disappeared and the doorknob closed its mouth. "Let me sleep in peace..." he said, before falling asleep.

"What was that?" Donald asked. "You hear that? It sounded like something closed," he said. A navigation Gummi popped out and they talked about it, but I was too frozen in shock to hear them. I knew exactly what that was: Wonderland's Keyhole. The doorway through which lied the heart of the entire world. I looked down at Sora's Keyblade. I knew the Keyblade had the power to seal the Keyholes, but I had never actually seen it happen. And if the Keyholes of the worlds actually were open now, then the fate of the worlds was dire indeed. The Cheshire Cat appeared in front of us, his smile wider than ever.

"Splendid. You're quite the hero. If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Gone with the shadows, into darkness," he said, before vanishing. "No..." Sora said, and I agreed. I don't know why the Heartless would want to kidnap Alice, but whatever the reason was I knew that it wasn't good. "Let's go back to our Gummi ship. We might find her in another world," Donald suggested. I sighed; and the Sora and Goofy reluctantly agreed. We all knew the truth: If Alice had been taken by the Heartless, then there was little chance of finding her.

xxx

Once we had transported from the save point to the Gummi Ship, we handed the controls over to Donald and sat down. I could see Sora staring out through the window, his chin propped up on his hand while his expression was filled with sadness. I knew what he was thinking; he had accomplished nothing in this world. No Alice, no King, and no Riku or Kairi. "Where are you...?" I heard him mutter. Standing, I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, We _will_ find them," I promised. He smiled and nodded, turning back to the window and gazing outside. "Hey Donald, how much father have we got?" I asked. "Not very far. See, there's the next world right there," he replied, pointing.

I peered out the window to see, and the moment I saw the next world I gasped. "No way!" I exclaimed, and they others looked at me. "What? Do you recognize this world?" Goofy asked. I smiled. "Know it? I went to this world as part of my last journey!" I called, smiling. They looked at it and then at me, but I was too focused on the route ahead. The next world was Olympus Coliseum.

xxx

Wonderland is now complete, and soon to come is Olympus Coliseum! How will Dexal and the others fare in the games? And can they beat both Cloud and Cerberus?

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will ind you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.11 Training

We arrived at Olympus Coliseum and opened the large set of doors, greeted by a huge coliseum with massive statues of warriors on either side. I smiled. "Now this brings back memories!" I said. "Gawrsh, how long has it been since you were last here, Dexal?" Goofy asked. "About ten years," I replied. "Ten years?! How old are you?" Donald asked me. Not looking at him, I charged a Thunder spell in the palm of my hand before shooting it at him, blasting his hat off his head. "Waak! Hey!" he yelled, grabbing it and brushing dirt off. "My age is of no worry to you. I'm strong and can wield a Keyblade. That's all you need to know," I said, before walking forward. Sora and Goofy looked at each other before shrugging, while Donald grumbled behind.

The massive doors opened with little effort, and inside was the vestibule. Torches burned around the corners while the sides had shelves built-in to hold trophies. A huge pedestal stood the side, while next to the door was a rule board. Standing on a pedestal in front of it, writing, was a satyr. The lower half of his very short body was that of a brown-red goat, while the upper half was a slightly chubby man with no shirt and a pair of horns on his head. I smiled wider and called "Phil!" "Huh, who are you? How do you know my name?" he asked, turning around to look at me. I frowned. "Don't you remember? It's me, Dexal. You know, the guy that nearly beat the games on his first try?" I prompted.

He looked at me for a moment, thinking back, until his eyes widened and he smiled. "Hey, Dexal! Man, has it been a long time since I've seen you!" he said, jumping down and walking over. "You don't look like you've changed a bit!" he said. "Neither have you. How's Hercules? He become a hero yet?" I asked. Phil snorted. "Done that and more. Let me tell you some of the things he's had to fight. Things that would have put those old monster, Unversed, to shame," he told me. I raised an eyebrow. Monsters that could top the Unversed? Just how strong had Hercules gotten?

It was at that moment that Sora said "Um…" and I remembered that he and the others were still there. Phil noticed them too, and said "Oh, and who are these guys? Some friends of yours?" I nodded. "Yeah. This is Sora, Donald, and Goofy," I said, gesturing to each of them in turn. Phil looked at each of them closely, and said "Hmph. They sure don't look like heroes. You sure they're the kind of guys that can take the Coliseum?" "Hey, we are to heroes!" Donald protested. Goofy put his hands and Sora's shoulders. "Yup. And Sora here's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade, just like Dexal." Both of Phil's eyebrows rose. "A hero like Dexal? That runt?" he asked, breaking down and laughing.

"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora protested. Still he kept laughing, and my smile slowly faded. "Phil," I said, nudging him with my shoe. He slowly stopped, and sat up looking at me. "Okay, maybe that was a little much. But how in the world can anyone besides Herc and the rest of your old friends even compete with you?" he asked. My breath caught in my throat; he was talking about Terra, Aqua and Ven. "Old friends? What's he talking about?" Sora asked me. Unbidden wave of frsh guilt, old sadness and bitter grief rose up, but I reined my emotions back before it could break forth. "Nothing; it's not important. Hey Phil, how about this? I'm in charge of training Sora, so how about I give him a session, and you can watch to how good or bad he is?" I suggested.

"Yeah- Wait. What?!" Sora called, looking at me. But Phil was already considering it, and eventually said. "Alright, I can go with that. I was gonna give him the same 'smash-the-barrel' test I usually give out, but I can make an exception," he said. I shook his hand. "Thanks, Phil. Sora, let's go," I said, walking into the arena. Sora hesitantly followed, and he and I stood on opposite end of the ring. "What's going on, Dexal? Why are we doing this?" he asked. "You want to get in the games, right? But, you also need training. I haven't given you any until now, so this way we can kill two birds with one stone," I said, drawing Stormfell. "Besides, it's not like you're scared, are you?" I taunted.

His expression hardened, and Sora drew his own Keyblade. I smiled; a little frustration helped when given in small doses. "Alright, first: I want to attack me like you would any normal enemy. Treat me as if I were a Heartless, and attack," I instructed. He hesitated, but nodded and did so, running forward. Inwardly I sighed; Sora had already made his first mistake. Never charge headfirst at the enemy in the beginning of a fight; let the enemy try to land the first hit on you. And I could see from his hesitation that even now he still saw me as Dexal, that older friend he had from the islands. Not Dexal the Keyblade Master. Sora raised his Kingdom Key into the air and swung down, creating a massive overhead blow that I blocked easily.

"Good force, but an overhead is not always the first thing to do. Instead, you want to do this!" I said, pushing back and jumping forward to swing from the side. Sora hastily blocked it, but the movement was slow and gave me enough time to move and strike at the other side, almost hitting their as well. "Good defense. Now I'll move back and you use offense!" I said, jumping away. Sora was about to run forward again but stopped, smiling and waiting for me to attack. I smiled as well; he was a fast learner. "Well done. Now back to defense!" I said, vaulting myself at him. Now that we were past the first moves I tried for my own overhead strike, which to my pleasure he blocked easily.

I pushed against him and Sora gritted his teeth, digging his feet into the dirt and holding his ground. His strength couldn't compare to mine, especially not now, but he was doing a fine job of holding me back. So I disengaged and feinted towards his right. He caught the trick and countered, successfully giving me a small cut on the arm. The wound wasn't deep but stung furiously, and I jumped away to cast Cure on myself. "Nicely done. Now, I want you to show me how well you've learned your magic," I said. He nodded and pointed his Keyblade at me, calling "Fire!" and unleashing that spell.

A ball of flame shot towards me and I dodged, but to my surprise Sora kept it up and cast three more. I had to dodge every one of them, and by then Sora had used up his magic. "Not bad, but you've used your magic too quickly. Only cast when needed; saving a spell for a desperate situation might help get you out of it," I pointed out. He frowned unhappily. "Like what? What kind of situation would that be?" he asked. I smiled deviously and said "Oh I don't know. Maybe something… like this!" I said, jumping forward and casting Triple Firaga. Sora shouted and managed to block all three, but that gave me time to get close and call "Transcendence!"

An anti-gravity field of energy spread out, catching Sora in it and lifting him into the air. While he flailed around and tried to maintain his bearing I waved my hand and sent him flying, stopping the spell just before he crashed into the wall. He fell to the ground and stood up, but by then I covered the distance and called "Deep Freeze!" Subzero winds blew out and hit Sora, instantly turning all the moisture on his clothes and the air around him to a black of ice. He shouted and tried to move, but his arms were trapped in the block of ice and he couldn't move. "Like I said, only cast when needed. The use of magic is a great skill, but only accessible if you have to stamina to use it," I said, bracing myself and slamming Stormfell into the ice block.

It shattered with the tinkling of broken glass, and Sora rubbed his arms from the chill. "Did you have to freeze me solid?" he asked. I shrugged, and walked back to the center of the arena. "Don't worry, a little more training will get your blood pumping and wear that cold out," I reassured him. He glared at me, but eventually broke a smile and stood in front of me, in a battle pose once more. This time I charged at him, and when I was blocked and countered on, I remembered that Sora was indeed a fast learner. The thought made me smile wider; maybe this kid had a chance to save the worlds after all.

xxx

Later, after Sora and I were done with our training session we stood in front of fill, Sora dripping sweat while I was unaffected at all. "You know, you ain't bad, kid," Phil admitted. Sora chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Looks like I'm heading for the Games," he said confidently, before Phil said "Afraid not." "Why not?" Sora asked. "Two words. You guys ain't heroes," Phil said. Goofy counted the words on his fingers, and I chuckled at Phil's classic mistake. "Come on!" Sora protested, and I said "Come on, Phil. Give 'em a chance." "Sorry Dexal, but although you're ready for the Games your friends here just aren't there yet. Once they are I'll give them a pass, but without that pass they can't get in," he said firmly.

Knowing we weren't getting anywhere, I sighed and said "Alright. Come on, guys." Reluctantly they nodded, and we all walked out of the vestibule. We were just about halfway to the door when a voice said "Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" We turned and saw a huge, tall guy walking towards us. His kin was blue with flames of the same color for hair, while his lips and toga were all black. I gasped. "Hades!" I said, drawing Stormfell. "Hey now, Dexal, is that any way to greet any old business partner?" Hades asked. I snorted. "Business partner? You tried to pull both me and my friend into the darkness!" I called. "Okay, I admit that maybe some things I did back then may not have been with the best intentions. But I'm an honest man now, or rather an honest god. Honestly!" Hades said, raising his hands as if in surrender.

I glared at him; Hades changing hardly seemed like a plausible idea. "Dexal, who is this guy?" Donald asked. Hades saw the chance and before I could talk said "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy. Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the Games, right?" He leaned down and put his hand on Sora's shoulder, saying "Well then, hey, get a load of this." Suddenly there was a burst of smoke and a pass appeared in his hand. "A pass?" Sora asked, and took it when Hades held it out. I looked at him warily. "What are you up to, Hades? Whatever this scheme of yours is, I'm not buying it," I said. "Come on, Dexal, is it really so hard to believe that I may have actually changed?" he asked.

I let the look in my eye answer that for me.

Hades sighed. "Alright, fine, don't believe me. Just remember: when you're in the final round of the Games and claiming victory, I was the one nice enough to help you get there," he said, before vanishing in a blast of smoke. I stared at the spot where he had been; this sounded too good to be true. And in my experience when things are too good to be true, they usually aren't. "Well, we've the pass. So come on, let's go enter the games!" Goofy said. I couldn't see what Hades was planning, so I sighed and nodded. Whatever the reason Hades had for giving us that pass; I knew that it could be nothing good.

xxx

Darn, Hades managed to pull a fast one yet again, even if not fully. Now Dexal and the others are headed for the Games, and what will happen when they do? Can they beat both Cerberus and Cloud? Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.12 The Games

"WHAT?!"

Phil's shouting made the entire vestibule tremble, while he himself stared unbelievingly at the pass Sora had handed him. "How in the world did you chumps manage to get a pass?!" he demanded, looking up from it at Sora, Donald and Goofy. Rather than answer, Sora asked "Can we enter the games now?" He looked unsure, and I said "Come on Phil. They have a pass; give them a chance. The worst thing that can happen is they lose," I told him. He looked at me, then at them before thinking. Eventually he gritted his teeth and said "Alright, fine! I'll let them compete _if_ you go with them. The great hero Dexal will at least save my reputation if you three squirts lose."

"Hey!" Donald called, while I looked away. "I can tell you this much Phil- I am no hero," I said. He chuckled. "Maybe, but then again it's not even my call as to that. The people around you consider whether you're a hero or not," he told me. I knew he was right, but I still didn't think I deserved to be called a hero. A hero saved people; I couldn't even save my best friends. Still, I sighed and said "Okay, you got a deal. Let's do this." Sora nodded in enthusiasm, and Phil said "Well then, get out into the arena. The first rounds starting!" We all nodded and walked through, seeing a huge stone square with four pillars at the corners, and a set of stands on the left and right sides.

The gate at the other end of the arena rose up, and four Shadows crawled out, accompanied by three Blue Rhapsodies. "Ladies and Gentleman, the time has come for warriors to again compete! In what? You guessed it- the Games!" we heard an announcer call. The crowds in the stands cheered, and the voice continued. "In the first round we have the team Shadow Scout, making their Games debut, against the team of the four warriors Sora, Donald, Goofy and… wait a minute! Reappearing in the Games for the first time in a decade, it's the great Dexal!" he announced. At the mention of my name the people in the stands went wild, and I looked around in surprise.

All these people remembered me, and with such reverence? I had spent the last ten years hiding and doing my best to be invisible to the other worlds. I smiled and shook my head in exasperation. Looks like that at least here, I had failed spectacularly. "Gawrsh, Dexal. You sure are famous!" Goofy said. I shrugged my shoulders and waved, the crowds cheering louder before the announcer said "Contenders, it is time to battle! Move to your opposite ends of the arena." The four of us did so while the Heartless did the same, and a magical barrier appeared around the edge of the square to prevent any injury to the crowds. "And… begin!" the voice called. We all charged ahead amidst the crowd's cheers, weapons drawn and ready for battle.

xxx

After two or three rounds of fighting, we were given a temporary break which Phil talked to us during. "Say, you three are better than I thought. Wish he was here to see this," he said. "Who?" Sora asked. "Hercules. He's a hero if there ever was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father," Phil replied. I smiled. "You were telling me about Hercules earlier and some of the things he did. What were some of them?" I asked. "Oh man, let me tell you. One time there was the huge thing called a Nemean Lion. Thing took forever and a day to kill, but Herc still beat it. And then there was a huge boar named-" he began. "Contestants, it is time for the fourth round. Approach the arena, please!" the announcer called.

Phil sighed and said "Ah well, Herc would be better at telling you his stories anyway. Now get out there and fight!" We did so and the barrier went back up, closing in along with the team Shadow Platoon. It was composed of three Blue Rhapsodies, three Red Nocturnes, two Shadows and two Soldiers. Without speaking each of us broke off, and I targeted the Soldiers. One of them tried to use a spinning kick but I dodged, cast Thunder and watching it jerk and spasm. The second Soldier slashed at me with its claws but I grabbed its arm, throwing it into its comrade. They both fell over and I smirked before jumping forward, stabbing Stormfell down and impaling both of them in one blow.

They struggled for a second before they stopped moving, bursting into shadows when I pulled my Keyblade back out. At the same time Donald cast Blizzard and destroyed both of the Nocturnes in one blow, while Goofy literally flattened a second Rhapsodies and Sora slashed his Kingdom Key across the chest of the last Shadow. The crowds cheered at out victories but we had little time to celebrate, as total of ten Rhapsodies entered the arena for Round 5. I ran forward and cast Triple Firaga, firing three balls of flame at them and destroying three in one hit. Donald cast Fire and destroyed a fourth, while Sora and Goofy attacked the other six.

Sora jumped up and spun in a corkscrew, hitting three Rhapsodies at once and sending them back. Goofy placed his shield on the ground and used it as a skateboard, sliding across the ground and crashing into another Heartless, pinning it between him and the barrier. Two of the Heartless cast Blizzard and sent a pair of ice shards at Goofy, he shouted in surprise as both got him front behind, allowing the pinned one to break free and fly away. "Oh no you don't" I said, casting Magnet and pulling it back. The spell also drew another one towards me, and Sora jumped up to slash at them both. I let him and concentrated my power, gathering energy into the tip of my Keyblade before calling "Clear!" and casting Mega Flare.

A ball of flame shot forward and exploded, creating a blast so large that no enemy escaped it. Waves of heat spread out and fired the Blue Rhapsodies, destroying them while the last round of Heartless suddenly charged out of the gate. There were four more Rhapsodies, the Nocturnes and one Large Body. Sora and Goofy went after the Nocturnes, while Donald attacked the Rhapsodies and the Body was left for me. I charged forward and dodged a roundhouse punch before stabbing, but my Keyblade just bounced off the monster's huge stomach. It patted said belly before charging forward, and tackled me hard enough to send me skidding back a few feet.

I grunted and placed my hand on the ground, jumping forward and pushing against the ground with all my strength. I rolled into a cartwheel that sent me a few inches into the air, where I cast Aerora to lift over the Body. It looked from left to right to see where I was, but I was completely behind it. Something it figured out when I covered my Keyblade in electricity and used Stun Edge. The massive blow made it fall forward onto its face, and I ended it with a single slash to the head. Donald, out of magic, swung his staff like a bat and hit the second-to-last Rhapsody so hard it spun end over end through the air, hitting the barrier and bursting into the shadows.

Sora and Goofy both threw their respective weapons at the same time, hitting a pair of Nocturnes so hard they blasted in darkness from the sheer force of the hits. Donald dispatched the last of the Heartless, and after that no more appeared. There was a moment of silence and I smiled. "Gawrsh, did we win?" Goofy asked, picking up his shield. Then the announcer said "Well done, contestants! Now, it is time for the final match of the Games to take place. The winner of this match will reign supreme!" The crowds cheered and the gate rose up one more time, and our last opponent walked out. But unlike the others, this guy wasn't a Heartless. He was all human.

He was a young man with blonde hair that was even spikier than mine or Sora's, and blue eyes to go along with it. He had on a blue sleeveless shirt and trousers with a tattered red cape, brown boots, a metal clawed arm and guards on his shoulder and hip. "And now ladies and gentleman, the final match between the teams of Sora, Donald and Goofy vs. Cloud is about to begin!" the announcer called. The crowds kept cheering, and even more so when Cloud drew his sword. It was a huge buster sword as long as his body, but wrapped over and over in bandages. "Time to end this," he said. We drew our weapons and stood there, until the announcer said "And… fight!"

All three of us charged forward and Cloud jumped into the air, stabbing his sword into the ground and creating a huge shockwave. I used Barrier and escaped unscathed, but the others weren't so lucky. Donald squawked and fell back from the hit, while Goofy held up his shield and Sora rolled away. "Yes, it does end. But only for you!" I said, using Sonic Blade. I shot forward like a bullet and Cloud did the same, and we both moved past each other. I stopped and cast Dark Firaga, sending a ball of dark flame at him. He cut it in half and swung at Goofy, deflecting the shield he threw at him and charging at Donald. Said duck shouted and tried to get away, but Cloud swung his buster blade and hit him with the flat of it on the side of the head.

Donald fell over unconscious, and without his shield Goofy suffered the same fate. My eyes widened in surprise; Cloud had managed to half our numbers in seconds. This guy was better than I thought. Sora thought the same thing and asked "What do we do?" I tried to come up with a strategy, but at that moment Cloud jumped up and stabbed down at us again, and I was forced to roll out of the way. I ran over what I had quickly learned about Cloud: He was a good fighter, and knew how to use that huge sword of his with great efficiency. But like all huge blades, his buster sword was only good for enemies at a moderate distance. He would have troubled with enemies that were up close and personal.

"Get in close! Ambush him!" I called. He nodded and ran forward, and Cloud jumped back as he realized that I had anticipated his weakness. I focused my strength before employing an age-old trick- the spell Vanish. Instantly my body turned almost invisible, only a shimmering mirage revealing where I was. I ran forward and swung from overhead, and Cloud just barely discerned where I was quickly enough to block. Sora attacked as well and he grabbed the Keyblade with his hand. That was bad move, as Sora charged a Thunder spell along the length of it and into Cloud's hand. Muscles involuntarily jerked, opening his hand and weakening his blocking.

I took advantage of the lapse and shoved hard, twisting the blade so that his worst moved with it, and I knocked the sword out of the Cloud's hand. It hit the ground with a clatter and I dropped my Vanish spell, pointing Stormfell at his throat. "Game," I said simply. He glared at me but hung his head, while Sora smiled and went to help Donald and Goofy. They began to slowly wake up, and I dismissed my Keyblade. The moment did so however, I felt a flicker of movement and suddenly the gate burst open, a huge dog running out. But this dog was as black as night, as large as a building and had three heads, each mouth was filled with yellow razor-sharp teeth.

It barked and slammed a massive paw down, which crushed Cloud and left me less than a foot in front of it. The giant beast reared its heads back and shot at me, but then a person jumped in front of me and held it back, actually rising the beast into the air. Phil called "Herc!" and realized that it was indeed him. He had gotten taller and a lot more muscled than the teenage kid I was knew, but the wavy hair and blue eyes remained. "Phil, get the out of here!" Hercules urged. "No way! I'm staying!" I said defiantly. "There's no time for this, Dexal! Go!" he yelled. I didn't want to, but intelligence won over pride and I did as he said.

xxx

Hercules has come, but now that he has can Dexal and the others defeat Cerberus? Find out soon!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.13 Separation

After Sora, Donald, Goofy and I escaped from the arena we were standing inside the vestibule. "What _was_ that thing?" I asked. "That was Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld. Herc should be able to take care of him in a second or two. Then again, maybe not. This isn't looking too good..." Phil said, trailing off. While he was looking worriedly at the doorway, I looked over at Sora and the others. Sora had a look of determination in his eye, and Donald and Goofy were ready to go if we were. We all nodded, and ran for the arena. "Hey wait, kid! These aren't the Games anymore; this is real!" "I know that. I'm not afraid. You can decide of if I'm a hero or not!" Sora told him. "Relax Phil, I'm helping too. They be fine with me by their side," I said. He hesitated for a moment, and then said "Be careful, kid!"

We ran back into the arena just in time to see Hercules being forced back against a wall, Cloud over his shoulder. "Hercules!" I called, jumping and sending a Firaga spell at Cerberus. It hit him and the back and exploded, causing the canine beast to whip around to look at me, before Sora and the others took Herc's place and he ran for the vestibule. "Hey kid, I got two words for you! Attack!" Phil called. We did just that, and Cerberus began walking towards us with a hungry look in his eye. Sora jumped into the air and tried to swing at one of the heads, but just as he tried it spewed out a massive fireball that hit him straight in the chest. He fell back down, batting at the flames that had appeared on his sleeve while I cast Thundaga Shot.

A ball of electricity flew forward and hit the middle head, and when it did the ball exploded to hit all three with the lightning. Cerberus howled from the pin and charged at me, forcing me into a roll under its belly to avoid getting bitten three times at once. It whipped around to try and find where I was, but as I was under it they couldn't see me. Goofy ran forward and I decided to blow my cover, running forward and dropping to one knee. I formed a step with my hands and called "Goofy!" and he nodded. He ran up and jumped onto my hands, and I used my strength to throwing him into the air until he was level with Cerberus's heads. "Here you go!" he called, and slammed his shield down on the head to his left. It growled from the force of the hit and snapped its teeth at him, but Goofy had already fallen back to the ground.

"Freeze!" Donald called, and cast Blizzard straight at the head on the opposite side. It saw the ice crystal coming and caught it with its teeth, breaking it easier than a twig. It seemed like Cerberus was done taking the defensive, because it reared its head back before opening them and pointing at the ground. A black smoke poured out of their mouths and into the ground, and suddenly a dark circle appeared above me. I shouted and ran out of the way, and a spike of energy shot out of the circle just as another appeared beneath me. Sora and the others were similarly attacked, and we were all forced to keep moving unless we wanted to get hit by the attack. One managed to catch me and hit me in the gut, causing to double over before I forced to straighten as another hit me in the face.

Grunting angrily I cast Barrier and watched as it blocked the attacks, before turning to Cerberus and running forward. It saw me running towards it and stopped pouring the black mist into the ground, instead having its left head turn and bite at me. I dodged and swung with Stormfell, hitting the head directly in the eye. Cerberus whimpered and took a step back, rubbing a paw against the eye that I had hit before barking loudly and running towards me. I was going to dodge but it was too fast, and knocked into me hard enough for me to fall to the ground. It reared its heads back and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped forward, each of the attacking a separate head.

Donald cast Fire and Blizzard at the one on the left, Goofy kept bashing the one on the right while Sora attacked the head in the middle. "Come on, Dexal! Let's finish this!" Sora said, taking a temporary pause to extend his hand. I looked at it for a second before smiling, and I took it to haul myself up. "At have you got in mind?" I asked. "Remember when you were training me and said to make every hit count?" Sora asked me, and I nodded. He smiled. "I think it's time we did just that," he said. I nodded and we both readied ourselves, before running ahead. Donald had switched from casting Blizzard on the head to it feet, an and had successfully frozen one of Cerberus's paws to the ground. "Hey guys, it's time to deal the final blow!" I called. They nodded and jumped back, and Donald gathered all his not-inconsiderable magical strength before casting a single giant Fire spell.

Goofy threw his shield like a disc and Sora and I stopped , pulling out arms back before throwing our Keyblades, each one charged with energy, end over at end until all four attack hit Cerberus at once. The explosion was massive enough to make the ground shake, and within it we could hear the beast howling in agony. It turned way and bounded for the gate at the other end of the arena, running through and disappearing. I smiled and recalled my Keyblade, spinning it over in my hand and calling "That's what I'm talking about!" Goofy nodded and smiled too, while Donald smirked at the power of his spell and Sora struck a victory pose.

Later on, after we had gone back to the vestibule, we stood in front of Phil while he read from a scroll. "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee all rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further..." he began, before Donald interrupted him. "Hey, what do you mean 'junior heroes'?" he demanded. "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," he said, his eyes glancing at Hercules next to him. "So, uh, what does it take?" Goofy asked. "Well, that's something you'll have to figure out for yourselves. Just the way I did," Herc replied. Taking it in stride, Sora said "okay, we'll be back," and began walking for the door.

I sighed. "It's too bad we have to keep moving, Herc. I really wanted to catch up on things- take care of that ten years since I've been here," I said. Hercules smiled. "Don't worry, we can talk more next time," he promised. By now Sora, Donald, and Goofy had already walked out, and Phil was stroking his beard. "Even with your help, Dexal, I still can't believe that little squirt actually beat Cerberus," he commented. Herc tilted his head in and said "Just between us, I had already worn Cerberus down by the time the little guy jumped in." I raised an eyebrow and looked at the exit, and nodded when Phil said "My lips are sealed." "Well, see you guys," I said, and walked out.

Sora had just finished talking to Cloud, and flicked his hair and said "I think I'll pass," before walking away. With nothing else to do in this world, we left and boarded our Gummi Ship.

xxx

Despite not having seen hide nor hair of Riku, Kairi or the King, we kept flying through the space between worlds, until another one greeted us. I had never seen it before, and from fist glance it didn't appear as if there was much to look at. It seemed like a giant tree-house, with waterfalls flowing a bot hanging out to the side. "Hey Donald, maybe King Mickey's down there," Goofy suggested. Donald looked at him. "In a backwater place like that? No way!" he said, turning back to the controls. "Hold on, Riku and Kairi might be down there. Let's just check it out," Sora said. I shrugged. "Not a bad plan. Some things- or people- are often in the last place you look," I said. "Forget it! We're on an important mission!" Donald said sternly.

"Just land!" Sora implored him, and he replied "No!" "Come on!" Sora said, and I added "Let's at least take a look." "Aw, phooey!" Donald told both us. All was silent for a moment, until Sora jumped up ran towards, Donald, grabbing the steering mechanism. "We're landing!" he declared firmly. "Don't touch that! Nooo!" Donald ordered him, and suddenly the ship swerved from the left to the right before plunging forward towards the world in front of us in a corkscrew. I gripped my chair and yelled "Hey! Stop fighting!" but my words fell on deaf ears. Beside me Goofy was clutching his seat as well, taking an extra safety belt and wrapping it around his waist.

We entered the world and there was a flash of white, before resolving itself into a massive,endless forest. We kept getting lower, and just barely managed to dodge some of the smaller trees, until we crashed right into one so hard that we were all ejected out of the ship and into the air. Sora was the closest to me, so I grabbed his hand while Donald and Goofy flew in the other direction. Below and ahead of us was a large dilapidated tree-house, which Sora I shouted before falling through the roof of. For me the going through the roof didn't hurt, but what did was landing on my right arm on the more-than-sturdy floor below. There was a large _crack_ and pain burst from my arm so quickly that tear were brought to my eyes.

"Oww... my head..." Sora said, rising onto his hands on knees and looking around. I tried to focus through the pain and managed to cast Cure, which healed the broken bone in my arm. A large bruise was left though, and it hurt whenever I moved it too quickly. "You okay?" I asked, and Sora nodded. Suddenly we heard a large roar, and in front of us a huge tiger leaped down front the upper flow. It's fur was yellow with countless black spots, and both its fangs and claws were sharpened into perfection. It growled and Sora summoned his Kingdom Key, but when I tried to call Stormfell the pain in my arm flared and I stopped, gasping. "Sora, I can't call my Keyblade!" I told him.

He looked back at me in shock, but then was forced to roll to the side as the tiger pounced at him. "Can you still use magic?" he asked. I held up my good rm and concentrated, and a ball of wind appeared in my hands. Smiling, I called "Sure can!" and threw the Aero spell. The blast of air caught the tiger's attention and it looked at me, but jumped away when I cast Triple Blizzaga. Sora slashed with his Keyblade and the animal clawed at him, both of them scoring a few hits on the side. I cast Thundaga and shot a bolt of lightning, which it didn't dodge fast enough and was struck with. The beast jerked and twitched before stopping, glaring at me before pouncing,

It knocked me to the ground and I gasped, the air driven out of my lungs by the weight on my chest. Less than a foot above me were the beast's massive fangs, which glistened with saliva as it reared its head back and shot down.

xxx

Ha-ha; I left you all with a cliffhanger! But stayed tuned and you'll see how this fight finishes, along with what happens next!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.14 Welcome to the Jungle

The moment the tiger brought its head down time seemed to slow, almost to the point of stillness. I didn't want to die, and seeing my end before me filled me with a sense of regret. I had, truly and completely, failed. I couldn't wake up Ven, save Aqua or even help Terra. Sora, Donald and Goofy would have to look for Riku, Kairi and the King on their own. But most of all, I had never found a way to save myself. My regrets went through my mind and I found a sense of finality. There are worse ways to go, I supposed. I could have been killed by a Heartless or consumed by darkness. Having myself killed defending Sora wasn't too bad. I closed my eyes and laid my head back, even smiling in the face of death.

Time returned to normal and I expected to feel the tiger's teeth tearing into my neck, but all that happened was that I heard a muffled roar. I opened my eyes and saw that the tiger had a spear lodged between its teeth, and was being pushed back by someone behind. That same person shoved and jumped over me, continuously sending the beast away. It was a tall, thin young man, and he had long locks of brown hair that went with brown eyes and a loincloth of the same color, his sole article of clothing. The tiger growled and tried to claw at him, but he was holding it far enough away that it didn't connect. With one more shove he sent it back, and at growled at him before dashing to the window and breaking the glass as it jumped through.

I watched the spectacle, and slowly pushed myself up. I rubbed my neck; still in one piece. Looks I wasn't going to die just yet. "You okay?" Sora asked, and I nodded. The stranger from before walked towards us, and I noticed that when he did he walked with his back hunched over and his hands on the ground. "_He walks like a gorilla_," I thought. "Sabor, danger," he warned us. "Um… Thank you," Sora said, and I added "Same here." "Thank you," he repeated, and I looked at him confusedly. "Okaaay… Do you know what this place is?" I asked. "Place is… place is…" he said. Sora looked at me, and I shrugged. "Where did the others go? Look, I got separated from my friends. Have you seen them?" he asked.

He looked at us confusedly, and Sora slowly said "Friends…" "Friends!" he said. "Right, my friends! There's two of them! The loud one is Dona-" Sora began, but stopped. I looked at him, and I saw a trace of anger in his eyes. He was furious that Donald wouldn't even consider stopping to look for the others, and insisted that they move on. I wanted to think of something to say, but the words stopped in my throat. Every once in a blue moon my friends and I would have gotten into an argument, and the only real solution would have been for us to make things up on our own. Forcing the issue would not help. So I sighed and looked away, while Sora turned back to the stranger.

"You know what? Never mind. I'm looking for my friends Riku and Kairi," he said. "Look for Riku, friends?" the guy asked. "Right!" Sora replied, and he asked "Kairi, friends?" "Uh… right," he said, and I looked to where Sora was staring. There was nothing there though, and I wondered what had caught his attention. But then the guy caught it back when he said "Friends here." My eyes widened, and Sora excitedly asked "Really?!" "*&&X%. *&&X%. Friends here," he said. I didn't understand the first half of what he said, but the second was easily understandable. "Not sure I understand, but show me! Take me to Riku and Kairi!" Sora said. "Hey, they're my friends too!" I half-lectured.

The man stood and placed his hands on his chest. "Tarzan. Tarzan go," he said. "And I'm… Sora. Tarzan go, Sora go go!" Sora said. "Dexal too," I added. Tarzan nodded and ran outside the house, grabbing the rail and hurling himself over. "What the-?!" I called, and ran to the edge. I heard rustling through the trees overhead, and saw a flash of Tarzan's loincloth. He had survived. "Do we jump after him?" Sora asked. I shrugged and said "Guess so!" before grabbing the edge of vaulting myself over. The wind sailed past my ears and pushed the skin on my face back, but I cast Barrier and hit the trees without a scratch. Instantly my feet landed on a sloping-like vine that I slid down. I shouted and tried to stop, but ahead Tarzan shook his head and I stopped.

There was the sound of shaking leaves and breaking branches as Sora landed behind me, and he began sliding as well. Tarzan seemed to have no problem with it and even leaped over an oncoming branch, which Sora and I just noticed at the last second. Another one, high enough that it was level with our heads, appeared out of nowhere and gave each of us a face-full of wood and leaves. "Oh come on!" I complained, while Sora grimaced. The rest of our trip through the Deep Jungle passed in a similar manner, and by the time we fell off the end of a branch into the middle of a huge camp Sora and I were covered with scratches and bruises. I groaned and pulled a twig out of my hair, while Sora took a look at the ripped remains of his clothes.

"Man," he said, and I nodded. Tarzan began walking forward towards a large tent, and I took a good look at the camp. The center of it was dominated by a mountain of supply crates, and around it were various modern items, such as a wood stove, a tea-table, and a table full of lab equipment. We walked into the tent, which was beige and had a large canopy, and Tarzan said "Jane!" A young woman stood up and turned around. She also had long brown hair, but it framed a pretty, youthful face with sparkling eyes. She wore a sleeveless white shirt and a long red skirt, and smiled at our entrance. "Tarzan! Oh, and who is this?" Jane asked with fine British accent.

"Um, hi there. I'm-" Sora began, before she said "Oh, you speak English! So, then, you're obviously not related to Tarzan. Are you here to study the gorillas?" "Highly doubtful," he heard a male voice say, and turned around. A tall man stood before in beige hunting gear, with receding hair and a huge jaw. He carried a large hunting rifle in front of him, and had an air of confidence. Behind him trailed Donald and Goofy, and I called "Guys!" "Sora, Dexal!" Goofy called happily. "Donald, Goofy!" Sora called, and he and Donald held hands for a second before they remembered their previous argument. Instantly they both frowned angrily, turned away from each other and crossing their arms. I sighed, but at least we were back together.

"A circus of clowns. Not much use for hunting gorillas," the man said. "Mr. Clayton, we're studying them, not hunting them. This is research," Jane protested, but he had already left. "Well, the more the merrier. Do make yourselves at home," she offered us. There was a moment of silence, until Sora said "Well anyway…" and both he and Donald announced "I'm staying." "Huh?" Sora asked, looking at him. I covered my mouth with my hand to conceal a smile; the two of them were being almost funny. Goofy stepped forward and held out his hand, and in his palm was a red cube with slivers of yellow around the edges. "Sora, look what we found. Look at this," he said. "What's that?" Sora asked. "A gummi block. It's the same stuff used to build our ship," he explained.

My smile faded and I looked up. "So that means…" I began. Donald nodded. "The King could be here. So, we've gotta work together to look for him. For now," he added, looking over at Sora. "Fine. I'll let you tag along. For now," he said, looking at Donald as well. Seeing no immediate solution to this problem, I walked over to Jane. "Is there a reason that Tarzan talks the way he does?" I asked. She giggled. "It is rather difficult, isn't it? Tarzan was raised in the jungle by the gorillas. Communicating with him is still hard, but he's learning," she said. "Ah, so he was speaking 'gorilla' before," I muttered. "What do you mean?" she asked. "We're here looking for our friends. He said that two of them, Riku and Kairi, are here. That part I understood, but then he said some other word I couldn't understand," I explained.

"Why don't we try this?" she suggested, pulling out an old slide-show projector. "We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word," she said, and I nodded. It was a good plan, until Jane turned around began looking for the slides. "Oh, where could they be?" she wondered, pushing aside various things. "Maybe they're around the camp," Goofy suggested. "So, we should look for them?" Sora asked. "Yeah, we'll split off into two groups and look for the slides separately," I said. Instantly Donald was there, grabbing my arm and saying "I'll go with Dexal." "Fine by me. I'll be with Goofy," Sora said, marching out. Goofy looked at me and I shrugged, and he followed out of the tent. "Are the four of you in the middle of an argument or something?" Jane asked.

"It's less the four of us and more just Sora and Donald," I told her. She still looked confused, but by then we had already gone out.

xxx

Later, after we gathered all the slides, we all regrouped back in the tent as Jane put the slides in. "Alright, let's see," she said, and pressed the bottom. The slide showed a picture of a castle against the side of the tent, and my breath caught. I would no the castle anywhere- I have lived there. It was Radiant Garden. "Something wrong, Dexal?" Goofy asked. I shook my head. "Nothings, it's nothing," I said. With that we kept going through the slides, six in all, but by the end of them Tarzan still hadn't said a word. "Well, Tarzan?" Jane asked. "Where are my friends, Riku and Kairi?" Sora asked. There was a moment of silence, and then he shook his head. "Hey, you said-" I began but then Clayton walked back in. "That leaves just one place," he said.

"Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I'd wager they're with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them," Clayton said, looking at Tarzan. "Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn't hide-" Jane said. "Then take us there. Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las," he interrupted. Tarzan looked at us, and nodded. "Tarzan... are you sure?" Jane asked. "Tarzan go see Kerchak," Tarzan said. "Kerchak?" I asked. "He must be the leader. Perfect. I'll go along as an escort. After all, the jungle is a dangerous place," Clayton said. I looked over and saw him where a sinister smile, and my eyes narrowed. Whatever Clayton had in mind, I don't think it was good.

xxx

Hey! Sorry I didn't update sooner; I was going to do it last night. But then I took some cough medicine and that shit knocked me _out_. But here it is now, so I hope you enjoyed it.

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.15 The Hunt

With Clayton in tow we made our way through the Deep Jungle, Tarzan taking the lead. While we kept going however, I couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of Heartless. "I don't get it. If there are absolutely no Heartless in the world in this world, then why would the King even bother to come here?" I thought aloud. "Maybe he thought there was some here, and then he left when he found he was wrong," Sora suggested. "If he left, then why are we still looking for them here?" Donald asked, irritated. "Gotta remember Donald, we found that Gummi the moment we got here. So there may the chance he hasn't left yet," Goofy said. "And we're still looking for Riku and Kairi," Sora reminded him.

Donald glared at Sora at that last part, and I sighed as we reached a part of the jungle that we had to get through by swinging on vines. Was there any way that this was going to get fixed? Tarzan was way ahead of; swinging through the jungle by vines was something that I guessed he had a lot of practice in. I wasn't so lucky; the closest thing I had ever done to this was a mountain-climbing exercise Master Eraqus had me and my friends do. I smiled at the memory; those had actually been some of the happiest days of my life. No saving the world, no fighting the Unversed, just the four of us training to make our hopes and dreams real. I nearly fell when I jumped towards the next vine to early, and I shouted as I had to cast a quick Aero spell to propel me forward.

The act reminded me of how things had actually turned out. Only Aqua and I had become Keyblade Masters, and one by one each of my friends met their own grim fates. Only I survived, and even then it wasn't long before I had met my own fate as well. I summoned Stormfell in my free hand. The little light that was here in this part of the jungle ran along the metal. The only Keyblade I had left that I could control; all my others had been lost after that single event so many years ago. We reached the end of the vine section and kept going, and while my body moved my mind went back to old memories.

"_Xehanort, are this is going to work?" I asked, hesitantly standing beside the other five apprentices. "Nothing to worry about; I have run all the necessary tests. The darkness that makes up the Heartless originates from the darkness inside people's hearts. I am positive of it," he said, looking up from the screen at me. "An acceptable thesis, to be sure. But must we, the test_ers_, become the test_ees_?" Even asked. "There are no other members of the castle or the surrounding town that know of our work here, not even Master Ansem is aware. And we cannot bring in someone else in case their jaws become unhinged," Xehanort reasoned, and turned back to the computer. _

_ There was a mechanical beep as the setup was complete, and Xehanort walked next to us as the machine powered up. "Remember my friends, this must be done for our research to succeed," he reminded us. I was still unsure, we all were, but Xehanort's confidence as usual helped bolster our own. So we stood there unflinchingly as the machine shot forward and hit us all with a beam of light straight in the chest. The next thing I saw was a darkness blacker than any I had ever seen._

I was snapped out of my memories by the sound of Tarzan talking, but it wasn't in any language I understood. On a ledge in front of us was a large black gorilla with a smaller female one next to it, and several other gorillas were behind them. I heard Tarzan say "Kerchak," while looking at the large one. That must be him. "Uh, did you get that?" Goofy asked, wondering if he understood Tarzan. "No," Donald replied. Kerchak looked upwards and turned away, and Tarzan said "Kerchak..." "He seemed kind of distracted by something," Goofy said. "Was he looking towards the Tree House?" Donald wondered. Upon hearing that I sent my senses outwards, and was able to feel the hearts of every living thing in the forest. I felt one heart that was actually in the Tree House... and the one slowly approaching it.

My eyes snapped open. "It's Clayton! He's heading for a gorilla that's in the the tree house!" I exclaimed. Sora's eyes widened and he said "We have to go after him!" For the first time in a while both and he Donald were in agreement, and we all ran back for the vines. Rather than wait to reach the other side though, we let go and fell down into the pond full of hippos below. Ignoring the fact that the hippos were eying us like their next meal, we swam out of the pond and climbed the nearby set of branches until we reached the area above, and set out from there. We made it just in time, as Clayton could been seen taking aim and one of the younger gorillas. Then Donald ran forward and yelled loudly while flapping his arms, causing Clayton to jump in fright just as he fired.

The shot hit the ground right next to Terk, who ran towards Kerchak above. Tarzan spoke to him and it sounded like he was pleading for him to wait, but Kerchak merely walked away angrily. I sighed and glared at Clayton, who was sitting on the ground. He noticed our looks and said "You don't understand. I was only trying to... Ah! A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life." Tarzan looked like he didn't believe him, and I said "Not buying it. Stand up." Hesitantly he did so, and I said "Turn around and put your wrist together." He rolled his eyes and did, asking "What, are you going to put me in cuffs now?" "Not exactly," I said, drawing Stormfell and pointed it at his wrists.

"Blizzard!" I called, and sent a blast of icy wind at Clayton's wrists. The water moisture in the air condensed and froze, forming a ring of ice that fit perfectly around his wrists. Clayton shouted at the chill and said "What re you doing?!" "Putting in _ice_ cuffs. Now get moving," I said, poking him in the back with my Keyblade. Seeing no avenue of escape, Clayton did as I said and walked forward, while Tarzan guided us in front and the rest of us stayed behind to make sure he couldn't escape. We reached the camp and walked him into the tent. "Oh, you're all back! Did you find you friends So-" began, but stopped when she saw the ice around Clayton. "Dexal! What are you doing? Why is Mr. Clayton wearing shackles made of ice?" she asked.

"Long story short, we just barely kept him from putting a rifle blast in one of the gorillas," I said, flicking my wrist and breaking the ice. Jane gasped before glaring at Clayton. "How could you do such a thing?!" she demanded. Rubbing his wrists to try and warm them up, Clayton nervously said "Now Mrs. Porter, it's like I told them. I was aiming at the gorilla." "You are not to go near the gorillas again!" Jane order angrily. "All because of one mishap? Come now..." he said, but his smile faded when he took in all of our expressions. Without exception all six of us were glaring at him with anger. Realizing that he had no hope, Clayton turned around and left. But not before I caught the first signs of anger appear on his features.

Once he left we all looked at each other, and sighed. "What am I to do with him?" Jane wondered aloud. "I don't know, send him back to England?" I suggested. "That won't do, its been made clear that the plane will only return us on a single trip. If I send Mr. Clayton away, then I'm stuck here for good," she explained. "There's no cell or anything here, so is there any way to keep him imprisoned?" Sora asked. "No, we don't have anything like that. The closest thing we could have to a cage would have to be built by hand, and that could take days," Jane said. "Then... I guess you just have to make sure that he doesn't get near the gorillas," Goofy told her. We all nodded, but no sooner had we done that than a large gunshot fired through the air.

"What the-?" I began, before Jane said "That was Mr. Clayton's weapon! He may be in danger!" "Let's go!" Sora said, drawing his Keyblade and running out. With the exception of Jane we all followed, and outside we saw a single gorilla standing in the middle of the camp. What worried and surprised me was the beings around it. "Heartless!" Sora exclaimed. I nodded and summoned Stormfell, running to into the fray along with Donald and Goofy. The Heartless turned their attention from the gorilla to us and ran forward, a total of six Powerwilds to contend with. One of the jumped into the air and swiped its claws, which I blocked and responded by kicking it with my shoe back the other direction.

Sora jumped into the middle of the Heartless and spun in circle, hitting three of them unexpectedly while the other jumped away. "Yeah!" Donald called, and casting a quartet of Fire spells. They all flew forward and hit two separate Powerwilds, who both burst into shadows. "Four..." I said, and jumped off a small rock into the air. One of them jumped up with me and tried to go for a roundhouse punch, which I ducked under and spun over to give it a bicycle kick to the head. It shot back to the ground and I threw my Keyblade, yelling "Freeze Raid!" My Keyblade hit the heartless and it immediately froze, sealed in a block of ice while Stormfell flew back to my hand. A simple rap with my knuckles made the ice shatter, and the frozen shards of the Heartless with it.

"Three..." Goofy said, running forward and tackling another Heartless with his shield. It fell back, dazed, and Goofy took the chance to stomp hard on its foot. The monkey-like monster gripped its foot and hopped on the other, until Goofy swung his shield and hit it with the edge hard enough to cleave the beast in two. "Two..." Donald said. The fifth Powerwild came for him and he jumped back, shooting another Fire spell. The ball of flame would have hit it straight in the chest, but at the last second it dropped down and slid across the ground until it kicked Donald in the knee. His eyes watered and Donald glared the Heartless. "Oh yeah? Then try some of this!" he said, and cast more than half a dozen Thunder spells.

The small bolts of electricity caused the beast to jerk and spasm until it simply fell, nerves overloaded from the stimulus. It was then that Donald cast Fire one more time and obliterated it. "One... and now zero!" Sora declared, stabbing his Kingdom Key into the chest of the last Heartless. If faded away as the heart rose into the air, and I smiled. "You've gotten stronger, Sora. And you as well, Donald and Goofy," I said. Sora smiled and said "Thanks," while Donald and Goofy did the same. "Why would there be Heartless here, though? There weren't any before," Donald commented. "I don't know, but if they're here then we can bet that they're elsewhere, and they seemed to be targeting the gorillas. We have to make sure they stay safe!" I said. They agreed, and we ran out of the camp in search of the Heartless.

xxx

Bad Clayton, trying to hurt the poor gorillas! Will Dexal and the others be able to stop him in time? Find out next chapter!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.16 To the Rescue

The Heartless that had mysteriously appeared in the jungle had surrounded four more gorillas, and we had to fight all four packs to make they were safe. "… and that!" I finished, slicing a Bouncywild across the chest and dodging the banana it threw at me. It was then that we heard a shotgun blast, and all five of us looked at the pathway to the right. "That was Clayton's gun! Let's go!" Sora called. We all agreed, and ran in that direction. It was strange, in the heat of battle Sora and Donald completely forgot about the fact that they were angry with each other. I smiled; it reminded me of how my friends and I used to be. We ran into a patch of open area, and I gasped when I saw what was on the rock in the center.

It was Clayton's pipe. We all walked towards it slowly, and Goofy said "That belonged to Clayton, didn't it? What's it doing out here?" "I don't know. Do you think he may have left it here?" I suggested. Before he could answer my question there was a feral roar and the bamboo shook, and Sabor jumped out of them in front of us. Sighing- we didn't have the time for this- I summoned Stormfall and charged forward just as he pounced. Sabor grabbed my Keyblade within its teeth and tugged, and I smiled. Charging a Thunder spell through it and sent a live current through its teeth and into the rest of its body.

It shrieked and jumped back, rubbing a paw against its lips before glaring at me. "Hey, I'm in this fight too!" Donald said, casting Fire. The ball of flame flew forward and Sabor moved out of the way, and it exploded against the rock. Goofy ran forward and picked up a huge branch that was lying on the ground before swinging it around and clubbing the tiger in the side. It growled and caught the branch in its mouth like my Keyblade, only this time it snapped the weapon in half. Goofy looked at the stump left in his hand before shouting as Sabor tried claw at him. Claws struck sparks off the face of his shield. Sora jumped up and flipped down, trying to catch the beast from overhead.

It dodged, and pounced back, scratching Sora along his leg. "Ow!" he said, falling to one knee. Sabor looked like it was about to attack again, but then I jumped in front of Sora. "Nice try! Dark Haze!" I called, and cloaked myself in darkness before shooting forward. The move was too quick for the tiger to dodge, and I rammed my shoulder into it like a major-league sports player. It fell back and I stopped, looking to see if I had given it the doom effect the move possibly could. Sadly there was no counter above its head, but from the way the beast glared at me I knew that the move itself hurt. It jumped back and disappeared in the bamboo, and I could hear the rustling of leaves as it dashed in another direction.

I stood in place and tried to track its movements, but then I heard Donald shout and I turned to see that Sabor had gotten behind me and pounced on him. "Donald!" Sora called, and fired a series of Blizzard spells machine gun-style. They flew forward and Sabor got off of Donald and out of the way, but Sora kept firing and it had to keep running. Donald looked at me and I knew that he saw it too: Sora had just saved him. "Would you just stay still?" Sora said, turning in a circle and re-aiming at Sabor. By now the surrounding tress all had patches of ice and frost on them, and when the tiger tried to jump into a group of them they snapped and fell down straight on it. It roared and struggled underneath the weight, and I smiled.

"Not so fun being the one pinned, huh?" I taunted. It growled and kept trying to move, but it was futile. The frozen bamboo weighed just too much. I walked forward, confident in our victory, when suddenly it roared and sprang up, sending the trees away and clawing at me. I shouted and blocked with Stormfell, backing away when the sparks stung my face. "Hold on, Dexal. I got ya!" Goofy said, and he placed his shield against the ground before sliding on top of it like a snowboard. Goofy turned so that his elbow was pointing outwards, and jumped up at the last moment. Whether it was intentional or not, Goofy had also jumped so that the sun was at his back, and when Sabor looked up at him its eyelids shrank as it was blinded.

Goofy smiled and fell down; delivering a flying elbow that hit the tiger in the ribcage. There was a loud _crack_ and it leaped back, wincing. "Good job, Goofy; I think you broke a rib! Maybe two!" I said, casting Aeroga. A gale of win blasted out and literally swept Sabor off its feet, tossing it around in a circle before throwing it back down. It tottered from side to side, dazed, and Sora tried to cast magic but failed. "Oh man, I used up my magic!" he said. "I warned you!" I told him, rolling out of the way when Sabor pounced at me again. "It's alright; I have an idea! Can you get blind him again?" he asked me. "Oh, I could do that easily!' I said, and I performed a trick that Aqua had taught. The move mixed a Vanish and Thundaga Shot spell together, and I did just that before shooting the sphere of energy at the ground.

The lightning vanished for a second before it hit the ground, and when it did I covered my eyes as a flash of bright light was created. It lasted for a few seconds before fading away, and when I removed my arm I saw that Sabor, Donald, Goofy and Sora were all blinded. Nevertheless, Sora ran for the rock in the center of the area and climbed on, leaping off and flipping through the air towards Sabor. It looked up at him and tried to dodge, but the light had seared the afterimages into its retina to the point that it didn't realize that it was moving right into Sora's path. "This is it!" he called, and swung down. His Kingdom Key slashed across the beasts back in a long cut that went the length of its spine.

Sora landed on the ground and Sabor made a weak growl before falling on its side, and I sighed as I dismissed my Keyblade. "Well, I think that ends our having to save the gorillas. Let's head back," I said. "What about Clayton?" Donald asked. I looked at the pipe, which was still on the rock, and sighed. "Maybe he made it back," I suggested, but even I could hear that from my tone I didn't give it much hope. We walked back and expected to see Jane in the tent, so you can imagine our surprise when she wasn't there. "Hey, where's Jane?" Sora thought aloud. Tarzan walked forward, and Goofy asked "What's wrong?" "Something coming. Jane, danger. Jane near… near tree house," he said. "Sounds like trouble. Let's go!" Donald exclaimed.

We ran for the tree house, and when we were climbing the trees to make it up I stopped. Above us I could feel the hearts of Jane and one of the gorillas… and the Heartless! "They're up ahead! And in trouble!" I said. We doubled our speed and made it up, and I saw Jane and Terk holding each other on a ledge above the ground. Strangely enough though, there were roots wrapped around their ankles, and a large black fruit was hanging from one of the trees. "Tarzan!" she called, and when she tried to move the roots tightened. The fruit was holding her in place. Then a total of a dozen Powerwilds appeared, and I summoned back my Keyblade. "We have to destroy that fruit! Go!" I said.

The others nodded and they each took a trio of Heartless to themselves, while I jumped up and slashed at the fruit. Despite the strength I put behind the blow it hardly made a scratch, and I frowned. "What the-?" I said, before having to dart back as one of the Heartless jumped at me. I grunted; I was starting to get annoyed by these things. "You want a fight? You got it!" I yelled, and casting Ice Barrage. Several pillars of ice burst out of the ground and impaled the Heartless, while the surrounding ground quickly developed sheen of frost. That left one Heartless down, but almost immediately another appeared to replace it. "Oh, come on!" I complained, beating it back before I cast Triple Firaga at the fruit.

The spell should have caught it aflame, but that didn't happen at all. Tarzan jumped into it and stabbed with his spear, but the skin was almost as hard as rock. "Won't… go in!" he said through gritted teeth, and pulled it out to knock away a Powerwild that had jumped at him. "Help!" Jane said, and I looked to see that another one was slowly approaching her. "Jane!" I called, and used Zantetsuken. The monster managed to make it a few more steps before I shot forward with blinding speed, cutting the beast in half. "Are you alright?" I asked. She and Terk both nodded, and I sighed in relief. "Just stay put. We'll get you out of here," I assured her before turning back to the fruit.

A Keyblade attack, magic, and a spear didn't work. Goofy and Donald's weapons couldn't really cut either. What else was there? Then Donald dodged a Heartless and whacked with his staff like a club, and I remembered the simplest rule in fighting. When _everything_ else fails, start swinging. With that in mind I ran up to the fruit and raised Stormfell over my head, swinging down hard enough to crack four wooden boards in half. The part I hit actually caved in slightly and I grinned. Again and again I kept smashing, using my Keyblade as I club. Another Powerwild must have sensed that I was making progress, and swiped at me with its claws. I shouted; the scratches stung furiously, and I shudder to think of what was under the monster's claws.

I fell back to the ground and grasped my arm, muttering a quick Cure spell. The arm glowed with a slight green light, and the scratches healed instantly. Then I looked around and realized that I had more important things to worry about. While I was focused on destroying the fruit the number of Heartless present had more than doubled, and the others were barely keeping up. Even Donald had exhausted his magic and now swung at any that came close, while Goofy blocked any attacks with his shield. Tarzan stabbed one Powerwild with his spear before kicking another, and Sora managed to recharge his magic enough to freeze one of the ones targeting him.

"There's just too many! Is there anything that you can do, Dexal?" Sora asked. I started to shake my head, but then a light bulb went off in my head. "There is one spell I know that could destroy them all in one hit, but it's dangerous," I said. "Dangerous?" Tarzan asked. I nodded. "The spell would certainly get rid of them, but I could also set this whole section of the forest on fire in the process," I warned. A few more Heartless appeared, and we were surrounded. "There's no choice. Do it!" Sora said. I sighed. "Alright, just do me one thing. Get on the ground… NOW!" I yelled, before pointing my Keyblade forward. They did as I said just as a ball of fire shot out of the end and I called "Mega Flare!"

The ball exploded in a blast of flame that filled the entire area we were located at in less than a single second. Waves of pure energy blasted out and sent the Heartless flying until they slammed against the wall and burst into shadows, countless hearts rising into the air. The part of the fruit that I had been hitting caught fire, the tough skin worn away enough for the fire to punch through. The flames burnt out except for a few patches of them here and there, and I got rid of those with a quick combo of Tornado and Blizzaga. That was, except for the fruit, which fell from the tree and burnt against the ground. In a matter of seconds it was burnt out, and the roots trapping Terk and Jane sank back into the ground.

Sora and the others stood and wiped soot from their shoulders, and Donald asked "What kind of spell was that?" "Mega Flare, one of the most powerful Fire-type spells invented," I said, when suddenly my knees buckled, and only Goofy catching me kept me from falling. "And one of the most exhausting," I added. "You gonna make it?" Goofy asked. I nodded and stood, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's go," I said. We checked to make sure that Jane and Terk were okay, and I asked "Do you know how you got here?" She shook her head. "Clayton came to the tent, and… That's the last thing I remember," she said. "Clayton?" Sora asked. "Gorillas trapped. Terk ran," Tarzan said. "We must help the gorillas," Jane said. That was all agreed on, and so we left the area to search for Clayton and the gorillas.

xxx

Well, most of the gorillas have been saved. Now they just have to defeat Clayton (easy, right?) and another world is down!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.17 Solution

The five of us had searched through the entirety of the Deep Jungle, and we still had not found Clayton and the trapped gorillas. The only place left to search was the Cliff, and that was precisely where we went. They were indeed there, and all of the gorillas were surrounded by Heartless. I saw Clayton walk forward and aim at one, pulling back the trigger and- "No!" Sora yelled, and Clayton stopped to look back at him. "Clayton?" he asked, and Tarzan replied "Not Clayton! *&&X%! Not Clayton!" Clayton looked at us blankly, and suddenly the Heartless rushed forward while he aimed.

"Hey!" I said, just barely managing to dodge a blast from his rifle. Sora swung at a Powerwild and cut in clean in two, while Goofy knocked one out with a blow from his shield. Donald cast Blizzard and froze another, and Tarzan stabbed his spear into the block of ice. He swung in a circle over his head until the ice block slid back to the tip of his spear, and he threw the frozen heartless at Clayton. He frowned and fired his gun, shattering the ice but destroying the Heartless in the process. More Heartless appeared to replace the ones we had killed, and I glared at Clayton after he almost shot Donald, actually creating a rip in the side of his hat from the proximity of the bullet.

Donald slowly raised a hand up to his hand, when he felt the hole an actual burst of smoke blew from his ears with a train whistle. "Oh yeah?!" he yelled, and he began casting spells in a rapid barrage like a machine gun. Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, and then the whole thing all over again. Even though they had no real intelligence, the Heartless had good enough instincts to start running away from Donald while he was on a rampage. Every one that came close was either frozen or burnt into a pile of ashes, and even Clayton realized that he had to do something before he was hit. But when he aimed and was about to fire, I called "Zero Gravity!" and send a pulse of gravity-cancelling energy outwards.

Clayton shouted in surprise as he rode into the air and his shot missed, and both Sora and Tarzan took the chance to bring their weapons sown on his back. Clayton fell back down to the ground and jumped back, his back against the cliff. "Nowhere to run!" I said gloatingly. He didn't say anything, and suddenly the ground shook. The cliff that he was standing in front of burst apart, although why I couldn't see. Tarzan rushed forward but was immediately punched back, and I heard a sound that reminded me of a reptile. Then Clayton rose into the air, and I realized that he was on top of an _invisible Heartless_. The exit behind us shined with a barrier, and now there was no way out unless we defeated them.

The Heartless Clayton was on rushed forward, and I dodged to avoid what of its outline that I could see. Donald had calmed down enough to begin casting at a less wild pace. Goofy spun around in a circle on one foot, and hit the invisible Heartless straight in the face, and I could see it swing forward and punch him in the stomach. Clayton tried to volley a shot while he was down, but Goofy raised his shield just in time and the bullet bounced off. Sora jumped and hit Clayton with Kingdom Key in the side hard enough to knock him off, and the Heatless spun around to hit Sora with what I thought was a large tail. "A tail, huh?" I said, before running forward. "Deep Freeze!" I called, and aimed the spell at the tail

The air around the tail swiftly condensed and froze, becoming a block of solid ice that anchored the Heartless to the ground. It shouted and tried to move its tail, but I cast Blizzaga and made the ice block only larger and heavier. Tarzan climbed high onto the cliff and jumped down, falling straight through the air and landing right on the Heartless behind Clayton. He swung his leg around and kicked Clayton in the stomach, and he gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of him. The Heartless flailed around to try and knock Tarzan off, but I hit it where its head should be and it faltered enough for Tarzan to swing his spear and whack Clayton down.

Now that they were off Sora, Donald and I took the chance to attack the Heartless with magic. We all charged our energy for a few seconds before casting three separate Thunder spells at the same time, and the Heartless screeched from the voltage. Its camouflage faded away, revealing itself to indeed be a chameleon, but six feet tall when crouched over, and its skin was the pattern of forest camo. A Stealth Sneak. "Should have known!" I said, and cast Thundaga Shot. The ball of pure lightning hit it and exploded with enough energy to light a house for a full minute, and the beast's eyes rolled into the back of its head. Or that could have been natural; I couldn't tell. Goofy helped daze it further by hitting his shield against its head, and it fell over, temporarily stunned.

Seeing that his backup was down, Clayton climbed onto a ledge high above and fired down on us, only stopping when he needed to reload. Sora attempted to climb but had to let go, barely avoiding being shot in the hand. I looked from him to the others, all of whom were both trying to hit Clayton and avoiding being, and then to the unconscious Stealth Sneak. Suddenly an idea for victory shot into my head, and I called "Everyone, duck!" before I channeled my Magic and used Wind Raid. My Stormfell flew through the air and hit Clayton in the stomach, actually rising him into the air and way from the cliff before flying over at Sora and the others. "Add your weapons in! Just throw them!" I said.

They nodded and Donald fired a shard if ice, while Goofy threw his shield like a disc, Tarzan volleyed his spear and Sora tossed his Kingdom Key. All of the weapons followed the same current of wind as mine, and they all knocked into Clayton again and sent him crashing into the Stealth Sneak, which had just regained consciousness. They were both still for a long moment, until I walked forward, picked up my Keyblade, and without a word drove the point of it into the Stealth Sneak's side. Clayton stood and glared at us, when the Heartless stood behind him, energy crackling around it as its camouflage flickered on and off. It made one more noise before it fell forward, and Clayton cried out as it fell on and crushed him.

Both bodies shined and a large heart rose into the air before disappearing. All was silent for a few moments until the gorillas, which had been hiding since the beginning of the battle, walked forward, and Kerchak approached us. I was cautious but knew not to do anything, and Kerchak grabbed the front of my shirt before throwing me up into the air which unreal strength. "Hey! Where I am gooiiiiiinnnggg!" I called, rising up until I was nearly level with the clouds before falling down. I landed in an area beyond the hole that the Heartless had burst open, and my impact was softened by patch of leaves. Kerchak did the same with Sora, Donald and Goofy, and Tarzan climbed up.

"Thank you, Kerchak," he said, before coming up stand with us. This area was dominated by a huge waterfall, and around it was lush greenery and plant-life. "Tarzan, home," Tarzan said, and we walked forward. Behind the waterfall was a huge cavern of ledges that led all the way to the top, and once we reached there we went through one final opening. Within was a dark cave illuminated a soft yet bright blue light, and the source of them seemed to be a cluster of butterflies gathered around a shape a couldn't determine. "*&&X%," Tarzan said. "So this is your home? But that means…" Sora said, before stopping. "Huh?" Goofy asked, and I noticed it too. "The waterfalls… they're echoing all the way down here," Jane said in awe.

"*&&X%. Friends there. See friends," Tarzan said. "Oh, now I've got it. *&&X% mean hearts heart. Friends in our hearts," Jane stated. Tarzan glanced at her and slowly said "Heart…" "Oh, so that's it meant," Sora said, disappointed. "Friends, same heart. Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends," Tarzan said to Sora. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at Donald. "Sorry about what I said before," he said, and Donald replied "I'm sorry too." "Finally, some sense comes into your thick skulls," I said, smiling. Goofy put his arm over all of our shoulders and said "Yeah, all for one, huh?" I nodded. "And one for all," I said. The light from the butterflies suddenly glowed brighter, and they flew away to reveal the shape they had been covering. The Keyhole.

Without even asking Sora pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole, and stars gathered around the tip before firing a single beam of light. There was a loud click, and the Keyhole faded away after popping a gummi out. "A gummi!" Donald said. "But it's sure not the king's," Goofy said sadly. Terk walked forward and rubbed its head against Donald's side. "I think someone has a new admirer," Jane said. Donald looked at her and then at Terk, and his eyes grew to the size of tennis balls. "No, no, no, no! Daisy would kill me!" he said panicky. All of us, even Terk and Tarzan, laughed at that.

Meanwhile, in another world far away, all the shadowy figures with the exception of Hades sat around the table, surprised by this latest development. "What drew the Heartless to that world?" one man asked. The green-skinned woman with horns smiled and replied "The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good." Another individual laughed. "Yeah, he got chomped instead!" The man stepped forward, revealing himself to be tall and thin and a goatee, and he wore the red and black outfit of an Arabian vizier. In his right hand was a staff with the head of snake. "A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless. But the boy and Dexal are a problem. They found one of the Keyholes."

"Fear not. It will take him ages to find the rest. Besides, he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan," she pointed out. The other woman present smiled evilly. "Yes, the princesses," she said. "They are falling into our hands, one by one. Speaking of which…" the green-skinned woman said triumphantly, looking back at the frightened figure of Alice. Back with us, we had left the Waterfall Cavern and made our way back to the camp, and now stood inside the tent. "Well, we better get going," I said. "Where is your ship, anyway?" Jane asked curiously. "Well, uh… Not too far," Sora said nervously. "Sora, Tarzan, friends," Tarzan said, and he handed him something.

My eyes widened. "A Keychain!" I said. "A what-what?" Sora asked. "A Keychain. It goes on the end of your Keyblade, and can change the appearance and attributes of the blade itself. Go on, try it!" I explained. Sora looked unsure but nodded, and he replaced the Kingdom Key with the new Keychain, which automatically caused it to shine and changed to the Jungle King. "Whoa!" Sora said in awe. I smiled; getting a new Keyblade was always a great experience. It had only happened to me once, but even then the rush of power was great. We made our final farewells to Jane and Tarzan, and left the Deep Jungle for the Gummi Ship. Once we were strapped in Sora held up the gummi.

"The gummi that came out of the glowing hole… It's not like the others. Wonder what it's used for," he said. "I don't know," Donald replied. "Maybe Leon will know," I suggested. "Hmm… He might. Back to Traverse Town, then?" Donald asked. "I wanna be pilot!" Sora told him. "Hey, stop it!" he said. "Oh, come on! I'm the Keyblade master," Sora protested. "I don't care who you are! No!" Donald stated firmly. I groaned and face-palmed myself, and Goofy said "Here we go again…"

xxx

Deep Jungle has been completed, and once the group arrives in Traverse Town they will have a nice little reunion!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

**Notice:** Oh yeah, 1000 views! I did not expect as little known as story such as this to become this popular, but then again I have great viewers like all of you! Thank you for the support, and I promise more to come!

Ch.18 Merlin

After Goofy and I managed to prevent Sora and Donald from breaking into another argument I took the controls, and piloted the ship back towards Traverse Town. Once there we found Leon in the waterway beneath the main part of town, and told him of what happened in the Deep Jungle. "So, you found the Keyhole," he said. "Yeah. The Keyblade locked it automatically," Sora said. "Good," Aerith said, and Leon explained "Every world among the stars has a Keyhole. And each one leads to the heart of the world. There's probably one in this town as well." "There is; I can feel it. This world has a Keyhole, but I can't tell where," I said. "What do you mean?" Sora asked. "It was in Ansem's report," Aerith said.

"The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core," Leon said. "What happens to the world?" Sora asked. "In the end, it disappears," Aerith said gravely. "What!" Donald and Goofy called, while I nodded. "That's why your key is so important," Leon informed him. "Please lock the Keyholes. You're the only one who can," Aerith requested. Sora looked unsure. "I don't know..." he began. "I think we should. We don't want what happened to the islands to happen to any other worlds," I said. "Yeah!" Donald said. "We gotta find your friends! And King Mickey!" Goofy added. "I guess you're right... Okay!" Sora said, and I smiled.

It was a good thing that Sora had agreed to seal the Keyholes, because in truth I couldn't anymore. When I had lost all of the Keyblades I had power over except for Stormfell I also lost the power to seal Keyholes. It was frustrating, the amount of power I had lost in that incident. But I still existed, and that was more than what had happened to the others. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Sora asked "Hey Leon. This gummi is different from the others. Do you know what it's for?" Leon was silent, thinking, and Aerith said "Ask Cid. He should know." We nodded and left the waterway, returning to the city above. Cid was in the accessory shop, as usual, and when we asked him what the Gummi was he looked at us like we were crazy.

"You're kidding me! You're flying a Gummi ship and you don't know nothing about navigation gummis?! Bunch of pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground," he said. "There are a lot of things we don't know. So what! We have to use the Gummi ship to go to other worlds. We don't have a choice," Sora said angrily. I blinked in surprise at the outburst, and apparently Cid shared the sentiment. "Whoa, easy. I didn't know. No hard feeling, all right? Well, I guess I could lend y'all a hand, then," he said. I nodded and said "Thanks." "Basically, with navigation gummis, you can go to new places. You want one on your ship, right?" Cid asked. Donald and Goofy nodded, and he said "I'll install it for you. But first I gotta deliver this thing."

"What do you need to deliver?" Sora asked. "Just this book. It's really old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But overall, I did a pretty decent job putting it back together. Anyway, you mind delivering it for me? It's the old house past the Third District. Look for a big fire sing," Cid said. I nodded and took the book, but when I saw the cover the air was punched out of my chest. No way… it was the Hundred-Acre Wood. "What's up, Dexal?" Donald asked. I shook my head and pocketed the book. "Nothing. Let's go," I said, but then the ground shook and the sound of a huge bell rung through the air.

"Wh-What was that?" Sora asked once the ground stopped shaking. Having barely noticed, Cid said "Hmm? The bell at the gizmo shop is ringing. Go check it out if you want, but deliver that book for me first. When you're done, stop by the house in the Third District. I'll be there." We all nodded and left, but just as we did a pack of Heartless appeared. There were five Soldiers, three Shadows, and one Large Body. "Oh, perfect," I said, drawing my Keyblade. Sora did the same as well, and charged forward while Donald and Goofy attacked as well.

"Come on!" I said, and used Sonic Blade. I charged back and forth between the Heartless at rapid speed, destroying one of the Shadows in the process. Donald cast Blizzard and froze another, which promptly shattered when Goofy bashed it with his shield. The Large Body hit its stomach and charged at Sora, who fell back from the hit. "Heal!" I called, and used Cure. Sora's body was enveloped in green light before he stood straight again, nodding his thanks before charging. While we were distracted two Soldiers tried to attempt a pair of spinning kicks. Sora blocked one and countered, actually cutting the Heartless in two with Jungle King. "What-?" he began, and I blocked the other before smiling.

"The Keychain Jungle King not only changed the appearance of your Keyblade, but also gives a boost in Strength and Magic," I explained, before casting Thundaga and blasting the Soldier with lightning. It exploded into shadows and faded away, while Goofy hit a Shadow on the head hard enough to send it into the ground, flat as a pancake. "Cool!" Sora said, and decided to give his new strength a try against the Large Body. No luck though, because the moment he got close the Heartless hit him with a right hook hard enough to send him onto his back. "Sora!" Donald called, and cast Blizzard at the Body before using Cure. Sora stood again and thanked him, and I countered a strike from another Soldier before killing it.

The Shadow that Goofy had flattened sank into the ground and moved behind him, jumping up and slashing at his back. Goofy shouted in pain and turned around, accidentally hitting his very target with the edge of his shield. It fell back and good glared, before calling "Okay, try this!" He put his shield on his head and his feet began glowing, before he shot off of the ground like a rocket. My eyes widened as I had to duck, while Goofy flew around wildly and smashed into any Heartless in sight. The Shadow was knocked off of its feet and into the air, where I threw my Keyblade and destroyed it. Now all that was left were three Soldiers and the Large Body. They seemed to notice it too, because then they took the offensive and struck.

The Soldiers jumped forward and swung with her claws, while the Body slowly walked towards us while left and right. Goofy came back down to the ground and blocked the attack with his shield, the attack striking sparks. He hit back hard enough to double the Heartless over before it received a harsh uppercut. Donald cast Fire and blasted the Soldier targeting him off its feet, and when it hit the ground Sora stabbed it in the chest. Both the last Soldier and the Body targeted me, and I smiled before saying "Nice try. Transcendence!" An anti-gravity field spread outwards and caught the two, and with a swing of my hand they began flying all around the First District. They knock into walls, posts and various building, until finally I waved my hand and made the two Heartless collide hard enough that they both burst into shadows.

With the Heartless gone we kept going, and arrived in the Third District with no trouble. When we did there was indeed a door with a large fire sign on it, which somewhat ironically needed a Fire spell to open. Inside there was a large cavern, and a large house sat in the middle of a huge pond. Stones moved from side to side in a path towards it, and once we made it across we entered through a hole in the side of the wall. But surprisingly, no one was here. "Hello?" I called. "Anybody home? We have a delivery for you!" Donald said. Sora walked forward, and suddenly his eyes widened. I tiled my head to the side and followed his line of sight, but there was nothing there. "Sora?" Goofy asked, and he blinked before looking at us.

Before he could say anything though, a voice said "Well, well… You've arrived sooner than I expected." We all turned and saw an elderly man walk through the hole, one that recognized. He was tall and thin, wearing a blue robe, pointed and hat, and had a longer silver mustache and beard that fell to the ground. A pair of glasses adorned his face, behind which black eyes had a sense of old wisdom. He was carrying a brown bag, and I smiled. "Merlin!" I called. He jumped back in shock. "Dexal? My goodness, is that you?" he said, looking at me like I was a ghost. "Dexal, you know this guy?" Goofy asked. I nodded. "I met him once, a long time ago. Then after the… incident… where I ended up in Ansem's apprenticeship, he taught some things about magic that I didn't even know. Made me a lot stronger, this guy," I said, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

"Well now, I hardly call it teaching. The power was already within you; I just awakened it," Merlin said. I was about to refute that when he waved his hand, gently putting an end it. "Either way, it seems you are not the only Keyblade wielder in my company now. As I expected," he said. "Wha… you knew we were coming?" Sora asked. "Of course," Merlin told him, and he replied "Are you… a Heartless?" "He doesn't look like one," Donald remarked. "Oh my, no. My name is Merlin. As you probably guessed, I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling; it's good to be home. Your king has requested my help," Merlin. "King Mickey?" Goofy asked. "Yes, indeed. Donald, Goofy. And who might you be, young man?" he asked.

"I'm Sora," Sora said. "Ah. So, you have found the key," Merlin said, looking at Donald and Goofy. "What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked. "Just a moment…" he said, placing his bag on the ground in the center of the room and pulling out a long wooden wand the length of half his arm. "Presto!" he said, waving it. A tiny chair rose out of the back and floated in the air, growing in size while other furniture rose out of the bag. There was a flash of light, and suddenly the entire room was transformed. Books upon books were placed haphazardly in small mountains around the room, while a fireplace was roaring and a table with chairs was in the center. A bed was placed in the corner, and Merlin looked at it for a moment before sitting down.

"There, now. Ahem. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. We can start anytime you like. Let me know when you're ready to begin the training," he said. I nodded my thanks, when suddenly I remembered why we had come there in the first place. "Oh yeah! We were asked to deliver this," I said, pulling out of book and handing it to him. "Oh, that book... So, Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you. You wish to know what kind of book it is? I don't even know myself. In fact, it's not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I'll put it here somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it. I'll leave the book over there. Do look at it whenever you like. My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me," Merlin requested. I nodded, indicating we would, and asked the others if we were ready to go. They agreed, and we left the Magician's Study for the rest of Traverse Town.

Little did we know, an old friend was waiting for us just back in the Third District.

xxx

The gummi block is soon to be replaced, and the journey will continue. But first, a surprised encounter and another Keyhole!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

* * *

Ch.19 Reunion

The four of us left Merlin's House and entered the Third District, where we were immediately set upon by Heartless. "Really?" I asked, summoning my Keyblade. But it turns out I didn't need to, because immediately a figure jumped down and slashed them in two, destroying the Heartless on the spot. Sora and I both gasped; the figure was Riku. He turned around and patted his sword against his hand, which I noticed with black and red in the shape of a bat's wing. "There you guys are. What's going on?" he asked, as if we had hadn't been separated for Kingdom-Hearts-knows how long. "Riku!" Sora exclaimed, and then he did something really unusual.

He grabbed Riku's mouth and tried to pull it wide open, seeing if it was an illusion or not. "Hey, hey, cut it out," he said, pushing him back. Sora looked Riku up and down. "I'm not dreaming this time, right?" he asked. "If you are, then I'm having the same dream," I added. "I hope it's not a dream. Took forever to find you two," Riku replied. Sora smiled happily. "Riku!" he said. I smiled as well. "Glad to see you made it off of the islands alive. How've you been?" I asked. "Pretty good. You're doing fine as well, Dexal," he said. Sora's smiled faded and his eyes shot wide open. "Wait a second, where's Kairi?" he asked. "Isn't she with you?" Riku asked. Sora lowered his hand and looked away, while I rubbed the back of my head.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off of the island too. We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now," he assured us. I wanted to believe it, but I wasn't so sure. Right before the islands were destroyed Kairi had looked sick, as if the very presence of Heartless had made her ill. I didn't want to think what would happen if she were thrown straight into the darkness. As if thinking about the Heartless conjured them, or maybe it was just me, but the moment I thought that a pair of Shadows rose out of the ground behind Riku. Not having noticed, he continued "We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-" he said. And at that moment the Heartless jumped.

"Oh no you don't!" I said, and I used Zantetsuken to slice one in half before it even reached the height of its jump, while Sora swung down and hit the other. They both burst into shadows, and we turned to Riku with smiles on our faces. "Leave it to who?" Sora asked. Riku looked at us in shock. "Sora, Dexal, what did you-" he said, too surprised to finish. "We've been looking for you and Kairi too, with their help," I said, nodding at Donald and Goofy. Riku looked at them. "What are they?" he asked. Donald cleared his throat. "Ahem. My name is-" he started, before Sora continued. "We visited so many places and worlds, looking for you," he said. "Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed," Riku replied.

I blinked in surprise and looked at him. Was it me, or did Riku have a tinge of anger in his voice? His expression had a race of it as well, but why was beyond me. The others didn't notice however, and Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Oh, and guess what? Sora and Dexal are the Keyblades Masters!" he said. "Who would've thought it?" Donald asked, to which Sora replied "What's that mean!" Riku held up Sora's Jungle King. "So, this is called a Keyblade?" he asked. Sora looked at his hand, realizing that it was gone. "Huh? Hey, give it back," he said. "To answer your question, yeah. That's what it's called," I said, holding up my Stormfell. "How yours and his look different?" Riku asked.

"Every Keyblade has its own chain that determines it powers. Some are better, some are not so much, but I like this one. Stormfell," I said, dismissing it. Riku grunted and said "Catch," throwing Jungle King back to Sora. "Okay, so, you're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome rocket. Wait 'til you see it!" Sora exclaimed. "No, he can't come!" Donald said sternly. "What?!" Sora said, and he replied "Forget it!" "Come on, Donald. He's our friend!" I said. He faltered for a second from my joining in, before he shook his head. "I don't care!" he said. "Uh, he's gone!" Goofy exclaimed. I straightened in surprise and looked to where Riku had been, indeed finding it gone. "Riku? Riku!" I called out. But there was no surprise. He was gone.

"Nice going," Sora said to Donald. "Hey, at least he's okay," I pointed out. "Yeah. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too," Sora agreed. "Well, we delivered the book like Cid asked. He said we were supposed to meet him in the abandoned house. So why don't we go there?" Goofy suggested. Seeing nothing else do to, we agreed and headed there. But my thoughts were still abounding in my head. Where was Riku? Why had he left? What reason would make him after finding us? And there was one more question, one that may have been even concerning.

I felt a dark presence when Riku had been around, but when he left it was gone. Was it with Riku? And if so, who was it?

* * *

When we reached the house and went inside, I expected a place full of cobwebs and dusty old boxes. But instead the place had a small table, light blue wall, and even a bed. "Hey guys! How do you like our secret hiding spot? It's all nice and cozy, right?" Yuffie asked. I nodded; the place actually reminded me of my room from when I lived in the Land of Departure. The usual surge of sadness and guilt welled up, but by now I managed to push it away, although it would return with a vengeance next time I fell asleep. Then Cid said something that brought up equally old memories, though far less pleasant. "You guys ever hear of Maleficent? I hear she's in town."

My head snapped up, and my eyes widened. "Maleficent?!" I almost yelled. Leon raised an eyebrow. "I guess that's a yes. You have heard of her," he said. I nodded. "Who is she?" Sora asked. "A witch, man, she's a witch!" Cid exclaimed. "I met her once, a long time ago. If she's around, bad things are sure to happen," I said. Sora looked at me, and then at Leon when he said "She's the reason this town's full of Heartless. Don't take her lightly." "What's she like?" Goofy asked. "She's been using the Heartless for years. We lost our world, thank to her," Aerith said. "One day, a swarm of Heartless came in and took over our world. That was nine years ago," Leon said. "I got out of that mess and came here with these guys," Cid said.

"That's awful!" Donald said. Again I nodded. To lose your home to darkness- I can relate. "Our ruler was a wide man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. His report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless," Aerith said. "Where's this report?" Sora asked. "We don't know. It got scattered when our world was destroyed," Leon replied. "I'm sure Maleficent's got most of the pages," Cid added. After that there was silence, and in that silence I could swear I could feel that same dark presence. Was it Maleficent? I thought about going after it, but then it vanished again. Well, it if was her, she's was gone. "Hey Cid, we finished that favor you asked," Goofy said.

"So, you delivered that book? That navigation gummi is installed and ready to go. You find another one, you bring it to me. I threw in a warp gummi for the heck of it," he replied. Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at him, and he clarified "Now you can jump to worlds you've been to before. Well, better get back to my real job." And with that, he walked out. The three of us couldn't think of anything more to do here, so we began to walk out. But then Aerith called "Hey, Dexal?" I stopped and looked back at her. "Yeah?" "I've been thinking about that bell in the Second District," she said. "The one that rang a little while ago?" I asked. She nodded. "It's above the gizmo shop. They say that something happens if you ring it three times something happens," she said.

While she was eating an apple, Yuffie said "But it's all boarded up now, isn't it? Nobody can get in there." I thought about it for a second, before looking at the others. "You guys want to check it out?" I asked. They shrugged, and so we set out for the Second District. True to Aerith's word, the bell was right at the top of the gizmo shop. True to Yuffie's word however, it was also barred by wooden boards that were driven in with nails so rusty they would never be removed. "How are we going to get it open?" Donald asked. I smiled and stepped forward. "Like this," I said, and summoned my Keyblade. "Deep Freeze!" I called, and I froze the wood to near subzero temperatures. Before it could warm back up I used Brutal Blast and slammed Stormfell on the planks so hard they shattered into frozen splinters.

I stepped back and waved my arms. "If you would do the honors," I said. They nodded and Goofy jumped onto the rope, pulling it down. The bell tolled slowly and loudly, sending vibrations throughout the ground. Suddenly, in the fountain farther back near the First District, the painted mural turned like a cube, showing a differently painted face. "Whoa! Wonder what happens if you pull it again?" Sora wondered. Before he could, however, Donald jumped up and used his weight to pull it down. The bell tolled a second time, and the wall swung again to show another new face. "That's cool, but Aerith said to pull it three times. Sora?" I said. He nodded and grabbed the rope with both hands, pulling down.

The wall swung one more time, this time accompanied by a semicircle of water jets. But then it glowed purple, and a large keyhole appeared. My eyes almost popped out of my skull; it wasn't _a_ Keyhole. It was _the_ Keyhole. An almost immediately a Heartless, a Guard Armor no less, dropped down on the ground and began walking towards it. "Oh no!" Donald yelled. "Come on! We have to stop it!" I said. "We'll never make it down in time!" Sora said. "Yes we will. Just jump! Trust me!" I added, seeing the looks of disbelief on their faces. But they trusted me, and jumped over the edge of the gizmo shop. I followed them, and the air whistled past my ears with frightening speed.

Then I called "Zero Graviga!" and created an anti-gravity field just before we hit. The result was that we floated in air for a few seconds, before landing on the ground and running forward. At the sound of us approaching the Guard Armor turned and I didn't even let it get a chance to attack. "This'll teach you! Meteor!" I called. A huge flaming rock fell from the heavens, and when it hit the resulting explosion sent the pieces of the Guard Armor flying back.

Or at least, that's what it was supposed to do.

By the Armor froze, and suddenly it changed shape. The hands planted themselves on the ground while the feet rose up in their place, closing in to form a set similar to claws. The entire chest was upside down, and the mask opened to reveal a hallow void from which two yellows eyes glowed. I paled and muttered "Uh oh…" This was no Guard Armor; in fact it was something more powerful. The Opposite Armor. And it was heading straight for us.

* * *

A cliffhanger to keep you all here, and another chapter down for me! Stay tuned though, as the next one will appear before long!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.20 Pinocchio

We all were still for a moment, almost as if in a trance, seeing the Opposite Armor floating on front of us. Then the wind blew, and suddenly we all snapped out of it. The Armor moved forward, and I yelled "Scatter!" We did, and immediately the Heartless looked from side to side, trying to decide which one of us to hit. "I don't get it. What happened?" Sora asked, casting fire and dodging a swipe from a claw. "The Heartless disguised itself as a Guard Armor, but when we beat it the monster showed its true form. It's really an Opposite Armor, which a lot stronger!" I explained, trying to use Brutal Blast but was sent back. "Gawrsh, then we have to beat it! Or it'll get through the Keyhole!" Goofy said, hitting it in the side with his shield.

"Right!" Donald said, and he cast a trio of Thunders. I followed it up with Triple Firaga, our combined attacks scorching the Armor's chest plate. It turned to us and kicked Donald with one of its feet, while the claws tried to again cut me. "Nice try. Barrier!" I said, and a crystalline wall of light appeared around me. The claws struck sparks and scrapped off, and I took the chance to use one of my more powerful techniques. "Ars Arcanum!" I called. My Keyblade glowed gold and I sprung forward, releasing seven massive hits in rapid succession. The Armor gathered all four of its limbs and launched them at all me, and I cut one of the legs clean in half. It groaned and moved back, looking at the fallen limb on the ground as it faded away into shadows.

"Yeah! Nice going, Dexal!" Sora said, and he let out Sonic Blade. He charged forward with almost blurring speed and cut at the Heartless's other foot. It turned and tried to swing at him, but Sora charged again and dodged, dealing another cut in the process. Then he stopped, the move having taken up too much of his magical energy. The Heartless took advantage of the distraction and kicked him from behind, sending Sora to the ground with his Jungle King spinning away. "Sora!" Goofy called, and tossed him a Potion. He hurriedly drank it and rolled out of the way of being stomped, and I called "Hey ugly!" The Armor turned to look at me, and I jumped into the air. "Magic Hour!" I said.

I dove down and slammed Stormfell against the Opposite Armor, creating a pillar of light that sent it hurdling back. It repeated the attack over and over, until finally the other foot was destroyed. "Hey, you can't have all the fun!" Donald mock-complained. I was surprised, but smiled and stepped back. "Help yourselves," I offered. Sora, Donald and Goofy all smiled, and ran at the Heartless. "Take this!" Sora said and he cast Blizzard. Before the ice shard could hit the monster though, Sora cut through it with his Keyblade and the length of it was covered in frost. "Froststrike!" Sora said, and he slashed at one of the Armor's claws. The Keyblade almost cut straight through, leaving it to be held together by a few inches of metal.

The Heartless groaned and looked at Sora, lowering its arms to the ground and moving forward, spinning them in a circle. Sora's eyes widened and eye began running, knowing that if he stood still he would be hit. "Not a chance!" Donald called, and he cast both Blizzard and Fire. The flame from the second spell melted the second, causing the Armor's arms to become doused in water. Then he cast Thunder, and the Opposite Armor learned the hard way that water and electricity simply do not mix. The fact that it was covered in metal armor didn't help either. The Heartless let out a high-pitched keening sound as it was electrocuted, and I smiled as I watch Donald's ingenuity.

Goofy ran up once the spell was over and held the edge of his shield, swing it around and nailing the Heartless in the side. The edge of the shield bit into its torso, and stuck in there like a bizarre extra arm. The beast laid its hands against the ground and was about to slap him away, but then Sora cast Blizzard and both hands and froze them to the ground. It let out a creak of surprise and looked down, trying to remove its arms and failing. "Say goodbye to those things!" Sora said, and he slammed his Keyblade down on each of them. They shattered like glass and each limb was destroyed, leaving the Opposite Armor with nothing but its head and torso. It realized that too, and fell back and pointed the bottom of its torso at us.

A ball of pure energy charged up, and as the others charged it fired. The orb hit the ground and exploded, sending Donald flying with his tail feathers. Goofy was blasted away next, landing on his back with the front of his shield covered in streaks of soot. I watched them and darted my head to Sora, wondering if I should intervene and help. But then it fired at him and he jumped, leaping over it and pointing his Keyblade at the Heartless. "You're done! Gravity!" he called. My eyes widened, and I saw as a sphere of black and purple energy appeared around the Armor before shrinking, drawing the torso and head into each other and crushing the metal like a compacter. Then Sora fell down through the air towards it, and he said "Take this!"

He slashed down and cut the Opposite Armor straight in half vertically, the two pieces falling away from each other and landing on the ground. They glowed white-blue for a second before a heart burst out of it, rising into the air and fading away, as did the body. I walked forward and helped Goofy up, casting Cura on both him and Donald. "Well, I will say this much: That was impressive. And didn't even need my help at the end," I said. Donald puffed out his chest and said "Of course!" while Goofy just laughed and Sora stepped towards the Keyhole. He pointed Jungle King at it, and stars gathered around the tip before a single beam fired forward. The Keyhole glowed before locking, and it faded away to leave behind a plain painting of butterflies.

"I must say Sora, you've gotten stronger. Strong enough for me to give you another spell to work with," I said. He looked at me and said "Really?" and I nodded. "Hold out your Keyblade," I ordered. He did, and I summoned Stormfell. I laid the tip of my Keyblade against the neck of his, and channeled my power through. "With the blade of key, I awaken within you a power that will bring you ever closer to becoming a true Keyblade Master! I awaken the power of the wind!" I called. A blast of air traveled along the length of my Keyblade and was absorbed by Sora's, which glowed for a moment before returning to normal. "Now you know the spell Aero. I do hope you can put it to good use," I said.

"Don't worry; I will," Sora promised. I nodded and smiled, looking at Donald and Goofy. "Well then, shall we go?" I asked. They both nodded, and we walked out of the Second District. We made our way back to the exit, but when we made a stop by the Accessory Shop I noticed a small wooden puppet lying in a corner. But when Jiminy jumped down and began talking to it, the puppet actually moved. "Well, as I live and breathe! If it isn't Pinocchio!" Jiminy said. The puppet sat up to reveal the face of a young boy, with a strangely long nose. "Oh, hi Jiminy!" Pinocchio said. "What in the world are you doing down here?" Jiminy asked. "Um… Playing hide-and-seek," he said, even though I knew it was a lie.

"I just don't believe it. And here I was, up all night, just worried sick about you. Why of all the- Pinocchio!" Jiminy said, and I looked to see Pinocchio's nose flashed bright before growing longer. "Pinocchio! Are you telling the truth?" Jiminy asked sternly. "Yes!" he replied, and his nose grew longer. Jiminy shook his head, and noticed a gummi block lying on the floor. "Then tell me, what is this?" he asked. "It was a present," Pinocchio told him. "No fibbing now! You know you're not supposed to tell lies. A lie only grows and grows, 'til you get caught! Plain as the nose on your face!" Jiminy lectured. "But if you want something, why wait? Why not just take it?" Pinocchio asked.

"Oh, my! Who told you that? You need some advice from your conscience!" Jiminy said, alarmed. "That's right! You're my conscience, Jiminy! I'll never tell a lie as long as you're around," Pinocchio promised. And just like that, his nose went back to normal size. "You need to be good so you can be a real boy. You promised Geppetto you would be, right?" Jiminy reminded him. "Oh! Do you know where Father is?" he asked, remembering. "He's not with you?" Jiminy asked. "Jiminy, let's go find Father!" Pinocchio requested. "Now, hold on! There are all sorts of dangers and temptations out there! I'll go find Geppetto, so you just wait here. These fellows will be helping me," Jiminy said, waving his arm at us. I blinked. "Wait, we will?" I asked.

As if he hadn't heard me, Jiminy turned and said "Well, shall we go?" "You could've asked us first…" Sora muttered, and I nodded in agreement. After we left Traverse Town we took the same route on the Gummi Ship that we had taken to reach Deep Jungle, but halfway we encountered a red swirling vortex with a yellow dot in the center that let out bolts of lightning. "Gawrsh, what do you think this is?" Goofy asked. "It may lead to another world. Now that Cid installed the navigation gummi, we can get through," I suggested. "In that case, full speed ahead!" Donald said, pointing at the vortex. Goofy nodded and gunned the engine, flying straight through.

* * *

Ahead of us, in Agrabah, Maleficent walked next to the tall man in robes from before. "And the Keyhole?" she asked. "The Heartless are searching for it. I'm certain they'll find it soon enough. So that just leaves…" the man said, before suddenly a bright red parrot squawked and flew down onto his shoulder. "Bad news, Jafar! Jasmine's gone! She's disappeared like magic!" the parrot said. Jafar grunted. "The girl is more trouble than she's worth," he said. Maleficent walked ahead and covered her face with her hand. "You said you had things under control," she reminded him. "Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in. But why worry about Jasmine? With her or without her, surely this world will be ours once we find the Keyhole," Jafar pointed out.

Maleficent turned away and lowered her head, closing her eyes. "We need all seven princesses of heart to open the final door. Any fewer is useless," she told him. "Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her," Jafar promised, before waving his hand and causing several Heartless to appear behind him. "Find Jasmine, and bring her to me," he ordered. Iago hopped of his shoulder and flew off, the Heartless following behind. Jafar began to walk away, but Maleficent warned him "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless." Jafar laughed. "Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary," he told her. In the corner a young woman hid behind a vendor's stall, overhearing the conversation.

Another Keyhole has been sealed, and my both most and least favorite world is coming up! Stay on your carpet and wait for Agrabah!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


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